Partners
by HlysComment
Summary: Hesam didn't quite know what to make of his new partner. Then, just when they become friends, Peter mysteriously disappears. Hesam doesn't want to let his partner down but is starting to figure out that solving Peter's mystery may be his own undoing.
1. Day One: The Rookie

Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes. This is just for fun.

Summary: For some reason, I was really struck by Peter's partner in A Clear And Present Danger. I thought he was very interesting and started speculating what it was like for them to get to know each other. Also, my husband immediately pounced on the fact that Peter is greatly overqualified to be working as a paramedic. I countered with Peter probably thought working out in the streets would be the best way to truly help people and that worked its way into the story as well. So, the story is working its way out. In my mind, a partner doesn't just say, "Hmm, Peter's gone missing." He tries to figure out what's going on. I have no idea how this will end and think that the upcoming episodes will have a lot to do with how it evolves.

SPOILERS for A Clear And Present Danger and possibly other episodes following it.

* * *

**First Day**

"Hey, Hassan."

Hesam Siddig sighed heavily. "Hesam."

"What?" The grizzled and emaciated looking shift supervisor asked irritably.

"My name." Hesam pressed on. "My name is Hesam, not Hassan."

The supervisor rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You're new partner's starting today."

Hesam frowned.

"I thought it would be another three days."

"Yeah, well, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, okay? Kids eager and he's an RN to boot, so…" The supervisor gestured to the ambulance bay and looked back down at the neat yet massive stacks of papers that seemed to be consuming his desk.

Hesam realized this was his dismissal and, stifling another sigh, walked toward the locker room to gather his gear.

"Hesam!" A voice yelled cheerfully. "How's it hanging?"

Hesam couldn't resist, "Past my knees, you know, same old same old."

Tony's cackle of amusement was joined by several other voices and Hesam was pleased to hear Jerry pronounce his little quip the, "Best howsithangin response EVER!"

After several rough shoves and pats on the back, Hesam found himself sitting on the bench in front of his locker next to Tony's.

"It's not though is it?" Tony said.

"Past my knees?" Hesam smiled, "You wanna check it?"

Tony smiled. "Wouldn't you just love it if I did. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the other part. It ain't same old same old today. I heard you're gettin' the rookie."

Hesam could almost feel the interest of the room centering on his and Tony's conversation.

"Yeah, don't know how much of a rookie he'll be though. He's a freaking R.N. for crying out loud."

"Seems weird don't it?" Mack chimed in then. "I mean, there's a nation wide nurse shortage and this guy decides to start riding a bus? Why'd he wanna do that? If I could score the kind of salary he could, I'd be outta here in a heartbeat."

Sam chimed in, "Yeah, we all know how long it's been since you scored, Mack."

Mack took a threatening step forward but with a smile on his face and Sam, laughing, ducked behind a row of lockers.

"He's cracked!" Jerry called out then. "Wacked in the head. Don't you know?"

Blank stares all around.

"Sheesh, you guys don't read the papers much do you? You know that Senator? The miracle guy got burned and shot up and what not? Who you think the rookie's big broski is?"

Hesam felt a cold stone forming in his stomach. He knew who Senator Petrelli was alright. The man was disconcerting in the least and downright frightening sometimes. That was all Hesam needed: to be partnered up with an ignorant fear mongering "towel head" hater.

Jerry wasn't done though.

"Yeah, seems baby brother ain't exactly the cream of the crop."

Jerry held up his hand and started ticking things off on his fingers.

"Tried to wack himself. I mean, proper wack himself. Nose dived off a building."

"How'd he walk away from that?" Sam breathed. He, like many of his colleagues in the locker room had seen the results of such suicides.

Jerry shot Sam an irritated look. "I'm telling the story. Seems he got lucky and hit a fire escape on his way down. Anyway, not long after that he got arrested…and not just some upper class possession thing, no, this guy gets arrested on suspicion of murder. Murder most fowl, my friends. Chopping off the skull of some cheerleader in Texas, man, crazy slasher movie stuff…"

"Actually,"

The strange voice in the familiar setting of the room created instant silence. An unfamiliar face was smiling a bit sadly but good naturedly in the doorway.

"I wasn't arrested. I was just questioned and then released."

Hesam could tell that most of his coworkers, like him, were embarrassed to have been caught gossiping. He had to hand it to the new guy though; he seemed to be taking it okay.

"No offense, man." Jerry said then, his hands up placatingly.

The new guy smiled. Hesam noticed that he only smiled with one side of his mouth…odd.

"Hey, I'm the screw up black sheep of a political family." The guy said disarmingly. "You can't possibly say anything about me I haven't read in the papers."

This got a few chuckles from the room and a relieved smile from Jerry.

The rookie's dark eyes started to scan the room then.

"I'm looking for Hesam Siddig?"

Hesam raised his hand. "Over here."

The dark eyes focused on him and Hesam felt for a strange moment that he was being tested or judged. But then the crooked smile appeared again and Hesam felt almost foolish about his feelings. _I'm getting paranoid._ He thought and sighed.

The rookie picked his way across the locker room and, smiling that crooked smile, held out his hand.

"Hey, I hope I got your name right. I'm Peter Petrelli. I'm your new partner."


	2. Day 18: The Jumper

Day 18:

"_This_ is not going to end well, methinks." Hesam said with a sigh as he stared up at the man pacing along the edge of the 17 story Wolser building.

That's when he noticed Peter was gone.

"Peter?" He said looking back at the open rear doors of their bus, ahem, ambulance. Peter hadn't gone back to fetch something, apparently.

"Peter!" Hesam tried again, louder. Then he saw him. It was impossible but Peter Petrelli now appeared to be standing behind the jumper…the jumper on the ledge…the ledge of the roof of a 17 STORY BUILDING.

Hesam muttered, "How the hell did he do that?" and then more loudly, "And what the hell does he think he's doing?"

Peter _seemed_ to be trying to talk the guy down off the ledge.

Hesam grabbed his almost forgotten radio.

"Peter, what do you think you're doing? Get back down here and wait for the shrink!"

"I can't do that, Hesam."

"Dammit, Peter! You don't know what you're doing!"

There was no response. The man on the roof was gesticulating wildly, pointing to Peter who held up his hands as if in surrender. Then, to Hesam's horror, Peter unplugged his radio transmitter, unclipped it from his shoulder and threw it over the side of the building.

Hesam watched the transmitter's long fall and the resultant metallic carnage in horrid fascination.

"Peter!" He screamed up at the roof. _Damnit! _He thought and then muttered, "Jumpers are crazy you stupid rookie."

Hesam suddenly felt a surge of guilt. He hadn't been treating Peter like a rookie. With Peter's knowledge and experience as a nurse, it was hard to think of him that way but Hesam should have kept that in mind. He should have kept a closer leash on the guy. Now he was up on the roof of a building trying to talk down a jumper. Peter obviously had no idea how unpredictable people on the edge could be. That ignorance could get him killed and it was Hesam's responsibility to train him. There was no way around it; if Peter got himself killed it would be Hesam's fault.

"Petrelli!" Hesam screamed up at the roof. "Get your ass down her, NOW!"

Peter either couldn't hear him or was purposefully ignoring him because he made no response.

"Excuse me," Hesam was startled by a pleasant feminine voice. "Did you say Petrelli?"

Hesam turned to find himself under the close scrutiny of two of the most beautifully warm brown eyes he'd ever seen.

What had she asked?

"I'm sorry. What?" He managed to mutter.

Oh, wow! Hesam had thought the brown eyes beautiful when curious. Amused, they were downright deadly beautiful.

"Just now. Did you say Petrelli?"

Hamanhuhmunuh?

"Um, yes?" Hesam tried to shake himself out of this ridiculous stupor. "Um, yes."

There, that sounded more concrete.

"My partner, he's gone up to try to calm the ju-uh-the person in distress until a counselor can be brought to the scene."

A smile. Oh, Helen, you're beauty has been matched at last.

"But weren't you telling him to get down?"

Hesam tried desperately to think of something to cover for Peter.

"Well, it's not, um, Peter's not…well, he is actually."

"Peter?" Now, she was frowning and, god help Hesam, _biting_ her _lip._ "So, he _is _Peter Petrelli."

That did it. Hesam broke from the stupor with an almost audible snap.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step back and let us do our jobs here."

The eyes widened. "I'm a reporter." She said then, almost desperately, as Hesam took her by the arm and began to escort her to the other side of the ambulance. "Lara Sladka, Daily News. And you are?"

Hesam knew he shouldn't give her his name, but he didn't care. "Hesam Siddig. Now, please, stay back."

She smiled, started to speak and Hesam all but fled her presence before he could betray any more of Peter's trust. When he looked back up to the roof he thought he could see a change in the jumper's posture. Maybe Peter was actually getting through to the guy. Then suddenly, horribly, Hesam remembered some of what he knew of Peter's history. Peter had once attempted suicide by jumping from a building.

_Aw, crap!_

Hesam had been nervous before but now he could feel his nerves threatening to unhinge him.

_Shit! Shit! Shit!_

He watched the jumper closely. Trying to infer whatever he could by changes in poise and posture and cursing the fact that he had no way of eavesdropping on the conversation taking place. Maybe Peter would talk the man down, _**or**_ maybe the man would talk Peter off.

Hesam swallowed convulsively when it seemed his worst fears were coming true. Peter had stepped out onto the ledge about five feet away from the jumper. However, while the jumper was facing the ground, Peter was facing the jumper. _So,_ Hesam thought to himself,_ at least it doesn't look like Peter is actively trying to kill himself. He's just going to get that way on accident._

"Stupid son of a bitch." Hesam muttered under his breath.

The next few things happened very, _very_ fast.

The jumper seemed to relax.

The jumper looked at Peter.

Peter yelled.

The jumper, well, the jumper jumped.

Peter jumped and Hesam yelled.

It was more like a scream, actually. If he was really being honest with himself, Hesam would admit he screamed like a little girl who'd had a snake shoved in her face.

He couldn't believe it! He was going to have to stand there and watch his _new_ partner die. Then he realized that Peter wasn't dead.

Neither was the jumper.

Somehow, Peter had jumped in such a way as to intercept the jumper. Then, apparently through the initial direction, angle and force of his jump, he managed to miraculously continue moving forward. Peter seemed to land with his upper body over the side of one of the fire escape railings and to keep his hold on the jumper.

As Hesam and everyone else on the ground watched in utter amazement, Peter fell forward over the rail and hauled the jumper over with him.

Hesam heard Peter's pained voice call out, "I need some help up here!"

Grabbing his equipment bag, Hesam ran to the base of the fire escape and started the long hike up the stairs to where Peter was waiting.

* * *

"You're an idiot!" Hesam screamed. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are? Do you realize that what happened today is just INSANE!"

Peter was sitting on an emergency room bed; shirtless, with a large tight bandage around his ribcage.

"I had to do something."

"Peter you should be dead!"

"You have no idea." Peter said in an amused and breathy voice.

"This isn't funny, Rookie! What happened today shouldn't have. You should be dead. You should be splattered all over the pavement! Do you understand that? You almost, and I mean came-this-close-almost, got yourself killed today. You damn near gave me a heart attack as well."

Peter seemed to be trying not to smile.

"I really am sorry, Hesam. Come on, sit down, Man. _Calm_ down. I'm still here. I'm fine."

Hesam snorted. "Yeah, just a few broken ribs and a near fatal fall. No big deal. What on Earth am I getting worked up for?"

Now Peter did smile. "Exactly."

Hesam glared and he must have got through at least a little of his feelings because Peter finally stopped smiling.

"Look. This is a dangerous job, Peter. You can't go running off alone like that. You can't go leaving _me _alone like that. We're partners. That means we stick together and we look out for each other. If you _EVER_ pull a stunt like that again, I'm gone. We're done. And I will spread the word that you're a leper, a death dealer. No one will ride with you, do you understand?"

Peter nodded somberly. "I'm sorry, I just, I couldn't let him fall."

Hesam sighed and finally collapsed into the chair.

"I'm sorry too, man. This is as much my fault as it is yours." Hesam chuckled sadly.

"What's funny?" Peter asked.

"It's just. After what happened to Mikey, I thought…Well, I thought to myself I'm never going to let that happen again and my very next partner I start repeating history."

Peter frowned. "What are you talking about, Hesam?"

Hesam sat quietly for a moment. He seemed to be sorting things out in his head. When he finally spoke, he sounded like a story teller, telling a tale from the distant past.

"Mikey was my first partner. We rode together from day one. But Mikey, he just couldn't seem to face the fact that there are some people out there that you can't save. Some of them don't even want to be saved."

Hesam sighed and his voice regained a bit more emotion.

"Mike and I responded to a call a few months ago. Shots fired in a robbery. We knew someone was wounded inside but the cops hadn't shown up yet. It was brutal man. We were right there but we had to cool our heels outside until the scene had been cleared. We can hear this woman, Peter. We can hear her inside screaming. Finally, Mikey decided he couldn't take it. He grabbed his gear and took off inside. I didn't know he'd done it until I saw him running out into the street toward the front door of the shop."

Hesam fought back tears at the vivid memory.

"He didn't make it past go. He wasn't even through the door when a bullet went through his head."

Hesam wiped his eyes and stared into Peter's. Peter swallowed and looked away.

"That's what happens when you don't follow procedure. The rules sometimes don't seem to make sense but they're there for a reason. The rules don't exist for when you're walking down the street jerking off, they're for the times when people are screaming and the world's turned on its head and you're fucking scared, man. That's when you gotta believe in those rules like the word of God handed down from on high because in those moments, in situations like today, you aren't thinking straight. Adrenaline, fear, it all turns you crazy. You can't _trust_ yourself, Peter. You have to trust the rules you made and followed when you could."

Peter looked up then.

"Alright, man. I'm sorry. I really am. It won't happen again."

Hesam sighed. "You're damn right it won't happen again. Oh, and don't think you're gonna get away with chucking that radio off the roof either, that shits coming out of your paycheck, Rookie."

Peter smiled and Hesam answered in kind.

"You got a ride home?"

A pained look flew so quickly across Peter's features Hesam almost didn't catch it. Almost didn't.

"Uh, I called my Mom but um, she was busy. I'll catch a cab."

It was not lost on Hesam that Peter suddenly didn't want to make eye contact.

"Well, I got a car. I'll give you a ride."

"Nah, it's okay, really." Peter said, still addressing his shoes. "I'm good."

"You're busted up." Hesam said and grabbed the plastic bag that contained the remnants of Peter's uniform shirt and some other belongings. "Come on."

"I don't need your pity." Peter said then and Hesam was startled at the venom in his usually amiable voice.

Hesam thought carefully about how to respond.

"Peter, you and I, we're partners now. We didn't ask to be but we are. What did I _just say_ about partners? Besides, what in the name of all that's holy makes you think I'm gonna feel sorry for a silver spoon sucking lunatic like you?"

Peter finally looked up at him.

"Get your shit together and follow me to my car…now."

Hesam pushed the privacy curtain aside and started walking slowly, but purposefully down the hall.

He smiled as he heard the grunt and then the footsteps of Peter following.


	3. Day 19: The Phone Call

**Day 19**

Hesam knocked on the apartment door again. He briefly wondered if Peter was avoiding him.

Finally, the door opened and Hesam saw that Peter was on the phone.

Hesam held up the bag of Subway sandwiches and raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Peter smiled, pointed to the phone and mouthed the word, "Mom" then rolled his eyes. Hesam grinned and pointed to the hallway. Peter shook his head and stepped out of the doorway and motioned Hesam to follow him inside.

Hesam dropped the bag on the small table and had a seat.

"I don't see how that's my fault, Mom." Peter said into the phone.

"How could I have known there was going to be a reporter there? Besides, it's not like they're reporting that I was running naked down the street, high on crack. The headline actually reads Peter Petrelli's Spectacular Save. That's _good_ right? I mean, apart from the overuse of alliteration."

Hesam was starting to feel a bit like an eavesdropper.

"Well, no one would be bringing up anything if last year Nathan hadn't made a point of announcing to the world I tried to off myself, would they?"

Pause.

"You think I should have just stood there and let that guy die?"

Peter laughed bitterly.

"Why did I even ask that question? You know what, Mom, a friend of mine has actually come over to see if _I'm_ okay. So, I gotta go. Nathan's a big boy and more than capable of taking care of himself. In fact, he excels at it, wouldn't you say?"

Peter listened, then sighed.

"It's up to him, Mom. Look, I'm not kidding about having a friend over. I really need to go."

"Bye."

Peter hung up the phone, wincing as he bent a little too far to replace it in its charger cradle.

Hesam winced himself, in sympathy.

"Yeah, Peter, be careful. Broken ribs hurt like a son of a bitch. Don't I know it."

Peter chuckled shallowly.

"Wouldn't it be great if, no matter how bad you were hurt, you could heal instantly?" He said with a strangely rueful expression.

Hesam laughed. "Yeah, but then what would people like us do for a living?"

Peter smiled at that. "You're right. What was I thinking?"

"I'll overlook such talk this once." Hesam said as he unwrapped his meatball sandwich. "You do it again, though, and I'll have to report you to the union."

Peter laughed, clutching his chest and wincing all the while, but laughed just the same.

The two partners ate in silence for a moment until finally Hesam confessed.

"Look, Peter, I'm sorry about that reporter."

Peter frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Well, she wouldn't have known it was you if it weren't for me. I kind of screamed your name…loudly."

Hesam had been focusing very sternly on an errant black olive and now cautiously looked up to gauge Peter's reaction.

Peter was smiling.

"It's no big deal, Hesam. You don't know she wouldn't have figured it out anyway. Even so, it's really no big deal."

"Really?" Hesam said skeptically. "What I heard of that conversation with your Mom indicates otherwise."

Peter became still but said lightly.

"Aw, my Mom's just always been a little pre-occupied with Nathan's political career."

Then he smiled a hallow smile that almost gave Hesam a shiver.

"If Nathan's not concerned enough to talk to me about it, I say, there's no real problem, is there?"

Hesam felt a bit odd talking about Nathan Petrelli in this casual way. The man still gave him the creeps and it was kind of weird to think of him as someone's son or brother. So, he changed the subject.

"When do you think you'll be getting back to work?"

"As soon as humanly possible." Peter said and then suddenly laughed.

Though Hesam couldn't see what was so funny about that.

"Sometimes, Peter," Hesam said, "You're just plain weird."

Peter's smile faltered slightly.

"Oh, Hesam, you have no idea."


	4. Day 34: The Fire

**Day 34**

Peter and Hesam arrived to a scene of barely controlled chaos. Well, a fire in an apartment building did tend to draw a lot of attention.

"Damn." Peter breathed as they both exited the ambulance.

"Take a look, Rookie. This is your first disaster. Looks like we're one of the last to arrive so they might not need us." Hesam said grimly as he grabbed his equipment.

He started scanning the scene looking for an opportunity to help someone, inwardly hoping there wouldn't be any severe burns, or at the very leastm, that the severe burns didn't end up in their bus. He felt a little ashamed for wishing that but couldn't help it. Burns were the worst.

"Keep an eye out." Hesam shouted. "Just look for someone who seems hurt or struggling, okay?" Peter made no reply and Hesam turned to where, only seconds ago, his partner had stood.

_Damn! Damn! Damn!_

Try as he might, Hesam hadn't seemed to be able to break Peter of this running-off-on-his-own habit. He wanted to call for Peter on his radio but the radio was full of fire related chatter.

"Damn it, Peter." He muttered, his eyes scanning through the milling crowd of emergency personnel and fleeing residents. Trying to find a single paramedic in this crowd would be like trying to find a needle in as stack of needles.

Hesam spotted a young woman with a stuttering step and a serious sounding cough and started heading in her direction but was intercepted by another team.

"Hesam! Over here!" He finally heard Peter's voice yell above the cacophony.

Hesam turned toward the call and saw Peter emerge around the corner of an alley, holding a young girl wrapped in a blanket. The girl was eerily still and Peter was running.

"She's not breathing; we need to get a mask on her now!" Peter yelled as Hesam joined him on his way to their ambulance.

"Pulse?" Hesam asked automatically.

"Can't tell now but she had one when I picked her up."

_And where did you pick her up? _Hesam thought, but saved his breath for the jog to the ambulance. He noticed Peter was wheezing pretty badly and had smudges of soot on his clothes and face.

Peter laid the girl down on the stretcher and felt for a pulse while Hesam pulled out the respirator mask. Peter shook his head and started one handed compressions while Hesam took care of the rescue breathing.

Peter counted off the heartbeats dutifully, One Two Three Four Five and Hesam squeezed, forcing air into the little girls lungs and Peter checked the pulse. Again. No pulse. Again. No pulse. Again…and suddenly the girl was coughing and her black curled eyelashes were blinking away tears. Hesam suddenly felt as though he had been the one not breathing, the one whose heart had stopped.

Peter laughed in relief.

Within minutes, Hesam had an IV going and an oxygen mask in place.

"Let's go. You're driving." Hesam ordered and climbed into the back with the child who was clearly still groggy, confused and scared.

"Hey, angel. Can you breathe a little better now?"

The girl nodded from behind the mask.

"What's your name? Can you tell me your name?"

"Keisha." She said and then coughed fitfully.

"Keisha? That's a beautiful name, Keisha. How old are you Keisha?"

She held up five fingers.

"You're five?"

Keisha nodded.

"Wow, you're a big girl, aren't you?"

She smiled.

"Well, Keisha, we're going to take to you the hospital right now, okay? The doctors are really excited to see you. They're gonna be waiting right at the door they're so excited. Then they're gonna take you inside and make sure you're okay."

The girl nodded again.

"Keisha, does anything hurt? You arms or legs or stomach? Do you remember falling or anything hitting you?"

The girl said something but Hesam didn't catch it.

"What did you say, Keisha?"

Keisha cleared her throat and coughed forcefully but finally said quite clearly. "I didn't fall. I flew."

Hesam grinned.

"You flew?"

She nodded solemnly.

"I flew out the window."

Hesam stopped smiling.

"Keisha, where does it hurt?"

She placed a hand over her chest.

"Your chest hurts?"

She nodded.

Hesam gingerly started applying pressure to the girls ribs but couldn't feel any breaks.

"Does this hurt, Keisha."

She shook her head.

"Keisha, can you do something silly for me? Can you wiggle your toes?"

The girl's once white socks wobbled appreciably.

Hesam smiled with relief.

"What about your fingers?"

Keisha grinned behind the mask and wiggled her fingers as well.

Hesam sighed.

"Nothing else hurts?" He asked somewhat incredulously. "Nothing but your chest, you're sure?"

Keisha frowned but nodded.

"Where's the other man?" She said then.

"The other man? You mean, Peter? The man that carried you?"

Keisha's eyes grew as big as saucers and she whispered something that, once again, Hesam couldn't hear.

"What, sweetheart? What did you say?"

"He flew! He flew me out the window!" She said loudly and then started coughing again.

Hesam frowned again. She must have been hallucinating, that wasn't a good sign. Then again, neither was the fact that her heart had recently taken a time out.

_Finally._ Hesam thought with relief when the wail of the siren abruptly shut off and he felt the ambulance slowing.

When it stopped he had the doors open instantly and Peter was only a few seconds behind him. They pulled Keisha and her stretcher down out of the ambulance and ran her into a waiting team of white coats.

Hesam started yelling out all the relevant information he had gathered.

"Five year old female, smoke inhalation induced cardiac arrest. She was down about 2 minutes but responded to CPR. No drugs but we've got a saline IV in her. Possible fall though no complaints of any pain or obvious signs of injury."

The team of doctors and nurses hustled away through the ER doors and Hesam stood for a moment to watch Keisha out of sight. He heard violent coughing and turned to see Peter bent of double and clutching his chest. Hesam fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Come over here." He yelled as he walked back to the ambulance.

Peter obeyed, having the good grace to at least look chagrinned.

"Get in." Hesam ordered pointing to the passenger door of the ambulance and then walked around to the still open driver's door.

Peter continued coughing but got in the ambulance and, putting on his seat belt, shut the door behind him.

Hesam pulled out of the ambulance bay and into a parking lot. He ordered Peter out and got him a mask and some oxygen. He checked Peter's lungs and sighed in frustration at what he heard.

"Smoke inhalation." He pronounced. "And not just a minor case either."

"I'm fine." Peter gasped from behind the mask.

Hesam stared for a long moment, and then made his decision. He shook his head and, grabbing his radio, informed their supervisor that Peter had been incapacitated and had to be checked out in the ER.

Peter glared at him all the while.

"Sorry, man, but your lungs are crap right now. I'm not sending you home like that and I'm sure as hell not going back to that scene with you this way. Look at you! You can barely breathe; much less finish your shift. We're going inside and getting you a clean bill of health."

"I'm fine." Peter repeated but the effort of adding force to the statement caused a coughing fit and just proved Hesam's point.

* * *

"You know, We gotta stop ending our shifts this way." Hesam said wryly. He was, once again, sitting on a cheap plastic seat within the frail privacy of a curtained off area in the ER. Only this time, Peter wasn't sitting up on the bed with a bandage. This time Peter was laid out on the bed and looked a bit like death.

"Shut up." Peter said weakly from behind the oxygen mask.

"He speaks!" Hesam said brightly. "Good. You were starting to make me worry."

Peter grinned. "Hesam, you never stop worrying. I think worrying is your special ability."

Hesam thought that was an odd turn of phrase.

"Huh." He said thoughtfully. "Then what's yours? Human punching bag?"

Peter seemed to sour instantly.

"I'm not special." He said with such conviction, Hesam's blood chilled.

He was about to argue the point when the curtain was violently jerked back.

"Are you proud of yourself, Peter?" A dark, immaculately dressed woman said sternly.

"Is this the way it's going to be from now on? You, throwing yourself and, incidentally your family into an unforgiving spotlight every other day?"

Peter smiled humorlessly.

"No, really, I'm fine, Mom. Just peachy."

"Is it sympathy you want, Peter?" The woman, Peter's Mom obviously, said impatiently.

"Approval? Attention?"

Peter looked at the ceiling. "Mom, please, not now. We have company."

Peter's mother started slightly as she finally noted Hesam's presence. She smiled at Hesam but it was reflexive, false and didn't touch the diamond hardness of her eyes.

She held out her gloved hand to him in an imperious manner.

"Angela Petrelli." She announced.

Hesam took the proffered hand and shook it gently.

"Hesam Seddig. I'm Peter's partner."

"Ah, how nice." She said in a patronizing tone, as though he'd told her he was Peter's pre-school classmate. "It was very nice of you to stay with Peter, as well, but I'm here now. I'm sure you have more important things to do."

It was obvious to Hesam that Angela Petrelli wanted him to leave and it was equally obvious that Peter wanted him to stay.

"Ah, it's no problem at all. Peter's gonna be good to go in just a few and I'm giving him a ride back to the station."

"I can do that." Angela said immediately, just as Hesam expected.

"Yeah, well, I have to head back to the station anyway and I always give him a ride home from there. It's just routine at this point. Besides, Peter's recovering from a rather serious case of smoke inhalation. The only reason they're not making him stay for observation is that I promised to keep an eye on him tonight. So I, unfortunately, am going to have to insist, Ma'am. I'll make sure to remind him to call you when he's feeling up to it."

Hesam imagined his smile looked about as sincere as hers but really didn't care.

She glanced from Hesam to Peter a few times before, literally, throwing up her hands.

"Oh well. Boys will be boys, I imagine." Then she leaned forward over Peter's prone form in an almost predatory manner. "You think long and hard about what it is you're doing, Peter. This is not a game."

Peter met her icy gaze with his crooked smile and an equal hardness in his own eyes.

"I'm not the one playing games, Mom. I'm just trying to live my life the best I can."

Hesam swallowed, extremely uncomfortable with the long looks that followed the strange exchange.

Finally, Angela smiled; patted Peter's cheek in the single affectionate act of the encounter and left without another word.

Hesam stood up and pulled the curtain back into place, then sat back down with a heavy sigh.

"Peter," He said solemnly.

Peter glanced up curiously.

"No offense, man, but I think you're family is in need of some major counseling."

Peter smiled without amusement.

"And you haven't even met my brother." He said in what was obviously meant as a flippant remark but Hesam could almost feel the pain underlying it. He almost pursued that line of conversation but decided Peter had been through enough for one night. Better liven things up.

"Um, hey, while you were sleeping I checked on Keisha, the little girl?"

Peter's eyebrows drew together expressing curiosity.

"She's fine. Doctors can't find a thing wrong with her other than the smoke inhalation. No scorches, breaks, nothing."

Peter smiled and leaned back further into his pillows, obviously pleased and relaxed by the news.

Hesam chuckled. "You'll never believe what she told me in the back of the bus."

He said then.

Oddly, Hesam noticed Peter tensing, so he continued quickly.

"She said that you flew her out of the building." Hesam laughed. "Isn't that crazy?"

Peter smiled stiffly.

"Yeah, that's pretty out there."


	5. Day 38: The Set Up

**Day 38**

"Seriously, Peter." Hesam said looking around a little uncomfortably. "What's the deal with this place?"

Peter smiled. No, he was smirking. There was definite smirkage going on.

"What's wrong, Hesam? You don't like it?"

Hesam shrugged. "It's just, I don't know, it seems a little fancy. Why here? Why not Fred's?"

Peter smirked again.

"Come on, Hesam. Live a little. Trust me, you'll be happy you did."

Hesam sighed and took another look around. The club was nice. I mean, _nice_. It had energy but was designed more for intimate chats than screamed exchanges on the dance floor. The word posh actually came to mind.

"If this is what you call living it up, Rookie, you've lived a much more sheltered life than I suspected."

Peter's smile slipped a bit but he seemed to rally and Hesam started to wonder what it was he had said when he spotted something that brought all higher brain function to a full stop.

Lara Sladka, the most beautiful, the most amazing woman Hesam had ever seen in real-walking-talking-life had just walked into the club. Hesam couldn't believe his luck and then suddenly she was smiling at him and walking toward his table and Hesam was holding very still because this was obviously a dream and he really, _really_ didn't want to wake up.

As she approached the table, Lara frowned slightly as if confused but continued with only a slight hesitation. To Hesam's surprise, Peter stood and greeted her warmly.

"Ms. Sladka, thank you for joining us."

Lara smiled and sat in the seat Peter had offered.

"Thank you, Mr. Petrelli. Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview." She fairly gushed.

Hesam looked sharply at Peter, surprised he would agree to an interview with a member of the press. Hesam had always seen Peter take pains to avoid attention.

Peter was grinning again. "Actually, Ms. Sladka, I never agreed to an interview."

Lara Sladka's face fell. Hesam insanely felt a surge of anger directed at Peter for disappointing her.

"You asked me, no, you have hounded me incessantly for an interview and I told you that if you met me here, you would owe me one."

Lara nodded her beautiful chestnut curls but looked confused.

Peter put his arm around Hesam's shoulders and grinned broadly.

"Lara Sladka, I'd like you to meet Hesam Seddig. Hesam is one of the greatest guys I've ever met. I would, and often do, trust him with my life."

Peter released Hesam's shoulders and gestured toward Lara.

"Hesam, this is Lara Sladka. One of the most annoyingly dedicated reporters I've ever met. I've been thinking you guys would get on quite well if only I could get you together and, look at that, I guess I just did."

As Peter said that last bit he rose from the table and grabbed his jacket and messenger bag.

"Okay, kids. Dinner's paid for. Drinks are on Hesam." The crooked grin again.

"Trust me. I've got great instincts."

Peter patted Hesam vigorously on the shoulder and walked away.

Hesam couldn't believe his dream had turned so quickly into a nightmare. At least he still got to look at Lara.

"Oh my Gosh." Lara said with a nervous laugh.

_That was so cute._ Hesam thought ridiculously.

"I haven't been so completely and obviously set up since…okay, I've never had anything remotely like this happen to me. You? Is this a regular thing with Peter Petrelli?"

_Hamanhuhmunuh?_

"Um, what? Uh, no." Hesam said and almost smacked himself in the head.

_Let's try for something better than monosyllabic responses._

"I mean, no. This isn't a usual thing. Actually, this isn't our usual hang out and I don't usually drink wine, either. It's just it was a fancier place than usual so I thought I'd try a glass of wine instead of my usual beer, is all."

_Good grief, Hesam._ He berated himself mentally. _Could you have actually fit any more "usuals" into that mess?_

Lara's eyes were big and, oh no, she was smiling and nodding. This wasn't good.

"Okay, well, um, you seem really nice but I…" She laughed nervously again. "I came here for an interview and I think I'm just gonna go now."

She had her bag in her hand. Then she grabbed her coat. She was leaving. He had to think of something. He had to do something.

"Um, wait!" He said though he still hadn't thought of anything. _Ah!_

"You know, you can still get an interview out of this, if you want."

Lara was halfway out of her chair but sat back down, a curious expression on her face.

"What? With you?" She asked, frowning.

"Well, yeah." Hesam said. "If you want to know more about Peter, I'm sure I could help. I mean, he is my partner, after all. And I really owe him something for putting us on the spot like this, right?"

She laughed. Oh great glories, she was gorgeous when she laughed.

"You're right." She said happily. "After all, he's already paid for dinner. I say we both order the most expensive thing on the menu."

Hesam smiled. "I like the way you think, lady."

* * *

"Peter's just a great guy." Hesam said earnestly and, to his surprise, Lara rolled her eyes.

"What?" He asked.

Lara smiled. "It's just, well, that's not exactly a unique perspective."

They had made it through dinner and Hesam's version, albeit edited for certain content, of the rooftop jump and the fire. Both were incidents about which Lara had written stories. They had also worked their way through two separate appetizers, two very delicious steak dinners and had just started on dessert.

"I mean, you'd think in a town this size I'd be able to find at least one person who didn't like him but so far, nothing." Lara said around a mouthful of ice cream.

"I keep looking to find what it is he's atoning for but, so far, all I've come up with is rich kid guilt."

Something about that struck an uneasy chord in Hesam.

"Who says he's atoning for something?" He asked somewhat defensively.

Lara rolled her eyes again. "Oh please. Peter Petrelli is born into one of the most wealthy and powerful families in Manhattan. He's being groomed to follow in Daddy and big brother's very large and profitable sets of footprints and suddenly decides, 'Nope, I'd rather do medicine.'"

She laughed.

"Not even 'respectable' medicine. I mean, people that wealthy look at being a _doctor_ as an odd hobby, being a nurse is just unacceptable."

Hesam had never really thought about it like that and said so.

"Oh, you have no idea. People that high up, they don't think like us. It's like they don't live on the same planet."

Hesam was feeling more and more uncomfortable with the conversation but Lara went on.

"Then we have the famous break down. Not that he didn't have reason. There was his brother's accident and all the rumors that his Dad's boss Linderman was responsible. Then, just as the brothers Grimm are about to turn on Daddy dearest, he drops dead. I guess the guilt gets to him and he jumps off a building but even THAT doesn't work. He quits his job. Starts running all over the country. Next thing you know elder Petrelli's burnt to a crisp and little brother is missing and presumed dead. Dead."

Lara gestured violently with her empty spoon.

"I mean, think about that, Hesam. You're partner was this close to being declared legally dead. Then he just appears standing next to big brother, as if he hasn't fallen off the face of the planet for four months, as the guy is giving some insane impromptu news conference."

Lara raised her hands in an exasperated fashion.

"In Odessa, Texas of all places. Odessa being the place that Peter was found covered in his own blood after a cheerleader got half of her head hacked off."

Hesam was now wondering at Lara's enthusiasm and energy and, yes, Peter was right. Sometimes she took the alliteration a bit too far.

"And what happens then, Hesam?" She asks and pauses.

Hesam starts to shake his head and just barely begins to mutter, "I don't know." But Lara has already continued on, answering her own question.

"He gets shot!" She says with an explosive sigh and collapses back into her seat only to jump back to attention an instant later.

"Not Peter, but Nathan. I mean, you know the story. EVERYONE knows that story. The guy gets shot. The doctors swear up and down that he's dead and then poof! He walks right out of the hospital and into a church and starts talking about God with Peter there holding him together."

Lara sat back again, seemingly exhausted.

"It's just crazy, Hesam. Is it not just the height of insanity?"

Hesam smiled. Damn, did his love this woman.

"Now Nathan's off in D.C. schmoozing with the President 24/7 and what is Peter doing? He's a freaking Paramedic. You can't tell me there isn't something hinky going on. People don't throw away fortunes, snub their noses at the kind of wealth and power the Petrelli's have without good reason."

Now Hesam was uncomfortable again.

"So what? You're saying what? There's something wrong with Peter? Because that's just bullshit."

Lara was surprised and, frankly, so was Hesam.

"I think part of your problem is that you keep thinking of Peter as "rich". You're trying to put people into little boxes and that never works. You can't judge people in groups. If you do, you always get it wrong. You have to judge people as individuals. We might still misjudge people that way but it's the only way you've got even a chance of ever getting it right."

Hesam hoped that made sense. He really wasn't accustomed to drinking wine.

Fortunately, Lara smiled.

"I like you, Hesam." She blurted out with a slightly sleepy smile and then looked startled and uncomfortable.

"I like you, too." Hesam said quickly, trying to ease her discomfort.

Lara blushed beautifully, then shrugged.

"You're probably right. I guess, I just thought it was such great luck you know? His brother's such a big story right now and one day I'm covering a pretty typical story and he just flies into the picture." Lara frowned thoughtfully. "I guess I was just hoping there was something more there than, you know, just a nice guy."

Hesam smiled sadly, "Lara, aren't you paying any attention to the world you're reporting on? Today, a nice guy _is _news."

Lara smiled. "Hmm. Then I think I'm looking at a front page story right now."

_That settles it._ Hesam thought happily. _I'm definitely dreaming._


	6. Day 67: The Car Accident

**Day 67**

Peter's laughter was barely contained when he managed to gasp, "She really said that?"

Hesam was laughing as well. "I swear, man. Swear on anything you wanna lay my hand on, that is what she said."

Both men laughed for a bit longer before Peter quieted a bit and said, "Again. Let me hear it again."

"Okay, okay, okay." Hesam said, wiping a tear from his eye. "Okay, so the girl grabs Lara's arm and Lara just, oh, she just turns cold. She's like suddenly the ice queen and she gives the girl this look." Hesam shudders for effect.

"And she," He laughs. "And she says, she says, 'Get your hand off me, bitch or I swear I will rip off your tits and shove them so far down your throat your children will be suckling off your ass."

Both men once again dissolve into unabashed and uncontrolled laughter.

After a long pause Peter manages, "I can't believe it. I can't believe your Lara, Miss Gosh Darn-it-all, said _that_."

Hesam still loved the sound of that phrase, 'your Lara'.

"I kinda like that there's a darker side down there somewhere."

Peter grinned, "Yeah, I'll bet you do."

"_Unit 22, Unit 22"_

The radio blared.

"Go ahead, dispatch." Hesam answered.

"_Please respond to a reported single vehicle traffic accident."_

Both men were instantly sobered.

"Okay, dispatch, we're good to go. Just tell us where."

* * *

When they arrived they realized they were the first at the scene. It appeared that the vehicle had swerved to miss a child and hit a lamp post, which had then collapsed on top of it.

Hesam and Peter grabbed their gear and approached carefully. A man was leaning into the window of the car.

"Sir. Sir! Please step away. Let us take a look."

The man pulled back out and Hesam was disheartened to see that he was soaked in blood.

"Are you injured, sir?"

The man shook his head, dazed.

"It's not mine. It's his. He saved my son." The man grabbed Hesam's jacket tightly. "You have to save him. He saved my son."

"It's okay, sir. We're gonna take care of him. You just go over there and make sure your boy is alright. Okay? We got this."

While Hesam had been talking to the distraught father, Peter had stuck his head into the car.

"Hey, man. Can you hear me?" Peter said in a conversational tone of voice.

Hesam couldn't hear the reply but Peter responded.

"Good, what's your name?"

"Hi, Ben. My name's Peter. Me and my buddy Hesam are gonna take care of you, okay. You're gonna be fine."

Hesam still couldn't hear what the man, Ben, was saying.

"I know. I know, Ben. I know it hurts. We're gonna get you out of here just as soon as we can."

Then Peter turned his head out of the window.

"Hesam, he's pinned tight, man. I've got pressure on a bleeder in his chest but we need to get him out."

Hesam nodded. "I'll see what's keeping the trucks."

But even as Hesam turned to send a query through dispatch he heard the tell tale siren.

Then he heard Peter, "You hear that, Ben? Here they come. We'll have you out of here in no time. Just stay with me, okay? I need you to stay awake, Ben."

"I know. I know you're tired, it's been a long day but you gotta stay here with me right now. It's very important. You married Ben?"

"I thought so. I had a feeling some lucky lady would snatch up a guy like you. What's her name?"

"Angela. Ha! You don't say? That's my Mother's name, Ben. How about that. I bet she's beautiful, isn't she Ben? Tell me how beautiful she is Ben."

Peter laughed. "You're a funny guy, Ben. Nope. Not gonna touch her. I wouldn't dare."

Hesam had crawled to the other side of the car to see if he could find another access point but the heavy lamp post had crushed the ceiling flush with the dash. The slight access of the driver's side window was all they had.

Hesam ran to the firemen as the truck arrived.

"We only got the driver, but he's bleeding bad and pinned in. We gotta get him out fast or he's gonna bleed out."

The fireman shouted orders to his colleagues who moved with a speed and efficiency that was truly amazing. In what seemed like seconds they were assembling the necessary equipment and Hesam turned back to Peter.

"Peter, they're putting together the jaws. Just a few more minutes. How's the driver?"

Peter still had a good deal of his upper body in the car.

"You're just fine, aren't you Ben? You're hanging tough. I'm impressed. What about Andy? He like sports or maybe he's thinking about an exciting career in medicine?"

Hesam listened to the light banter but frowned at Peter's hand signal. Thumbs down. They needed to hurry.

Finally, the firemen were approaching with the giant hydrolic machinery most called the jaws of life. One of them approached Peter.

"Buddy, you're gonna have to stand aside."

Peter shook his head. "Open it up from the other side. I can't walk away."

The fireman took his turn shaking his head. "No can do. This is the only reasonable access point. We need to break him out here."

Peter pulled his head out while keeping his arms in place on Ben's chest.

"You don't understand. I am keeping pressure on a serious wound. If I walk away, he could bleed out. Isn't there some way you can do this while I stay here."  
The fireman shook his head sadly. "Sorry, we'll get him out as fast as humanely possible but there's no way around it, you are going to have to move."

Peter cursed, then calmed and ducked his head back into the car.

"Ben, I'm gonna have to step away for them to get you out. I'll be right back. Keep your hand right here, Ben. You hear me? You understand? Right here. I'll be right back. Hang on, Ben."

Peter pulled out of the car quickly screaming, "Now. Do it now!"

Hesam watched and waited for the agonizingly slow process to complete. He and Peter tried to make the best of the time by putting together everything they would need to stabilize Ben when he was finally extracted. Then, more waiting. Peter paced nervously back and forth, biting his lip in frustration.

At last, the growling from the hydraulics ceased and the firemen started screaming that they had him.

Peter and Hesam fairly pounced. They placed the unresponsive Ben on the ground and did a quick check that showed he was not breathing and had no heartbeat. They tried drugs, they tried fluids, they tried CPR, they tried everything.

After twenty minutes, Peter was still pounding out the rhythm but Hesam knew Ben was gone.

"Peter, it's over." Hesam said sadly but Peter refused to look up.

"No," He said, breathless from the exertion of the compressions. "I can save him."

"It's no use." Hesam pleaded. "He's dead."

Peter continued to ignore him and Hesam finally grabbed him by the shoulder. "Hey."

That seemed to break through. Peter sat back on his heels, defeated.

"Damn it. I could have saved him."

Hesam shook his head. "No, you couldn't. He bled out in the car."

"I should have gotten to him sooner."

Hesam couldn't believe how eager Peter always was to make any failure his fault, his failing.

"He was pinned in there."

"So, I should have been stronger."

Hesam shook his head again. Despite his abilities, Peter was still a rookie and hadn't learned the most important lesson.

"You can't save everyone, Peter."

Peter looked again at the quiet bloodstained body that had been Ben, a loving husband and father of three. Ben, who had looked up at Peter with terrified eyes and begged for help.

"I should have been stronger." He said again and walked back toward the ambulance.

Hesam watched him go and then turned back to the body. He sighed heavily, suddenly bone weary.

"I'm sorry, Ben. We really did try."


	7. Day 67: The Plan

**Day 67**

"Technically, our shift was over half an hour ago. Would it bother you too much if I just left from here? I know you'll have to restock by yourself but we didn't use much and the bus is clean." Peter asked softly.

Hesam thought about it. Not because he'd begrudge Peter the favor but because he wasn't sure it was a good idea for Peter to be alone. Then again, he couldn't really say no. "Sure, man."

Peter didn't respond. Hesam followed Peter's gaze and saw that the rookie was watching the now draped body being loaded into the coroner's van. Time for a change of subject.

"So, you planing on seeing him?" Hesam said as nonchalantly as possible.

"See who?" Peter asked in response, his eyes still not moving from the van.

"You're brother."

That got Peter's attention.

"He's in town." Hesam continued. "I saw him on the news this morning."

"Ah." Peter said and suddenly became busy with his equipment. "I didn't see that."

Hesam thought something was up with those two. The fact that Peter appeared to know less about where his brother was than Hesam wasn't a good sign.

"I haven't seen him in months." Peter went on and Hesam realized it was the first time his brother had actually come up in one of their conversations; which, when you think about how many conversations they'd had, was actually saying quite a lot. "We aren't really talking at the moment."

"Huh." Was Hesam's incredibly sensitive and thought out response to that revelation.

Well, better get everything out in the open.

"Maybe you won't mind me being honest. He scares the hell out of me."

Peter really perked up at that and looked surprised.

"Why's that?" He asked as he shouldered into his jacket.

Hesam plunged in, "My family's from Iran. The things he's talking about…protecting the country from "dangerous people"? It's code. It's not very subtle either." Hesam could actually feel tiny hairs standing on end at the thought of people attacking his friends or family.

"He's talking about people like me. We're different, so we're scary."

Peter made no response and Hesam suddenly found himself feeling apprehensive and even defensive. After all, Peter was this guy's brother and what did he know about being different? About having to feel afraid?

"But," Hesam said spitefully, "You wouldn't know anything about that."

Peter actually chuckled. "Believe me, I know more than you think."

Then Peter's cell phone rang and he turned away without another word.

Hesam watched him walk away for a moment and then turned back to the ambulance. It was strange. Their little exchange had been more than civil but Hesam felt somehow that they'd had a fight.

He sat behind the steering wheel for a long moment. He looked in the rear view mirror and tried to spot Peter but the rookie was already climbing into a cab.

Oh well. He'd call him later. Ask him out for a drink. What had Hesam been thinking? Bringing up that crap about Peter's brother and then getting all defensive right after Peter had lost his first patient in the field?

_Stupid._

Hesam would definitely call Peter later. He and Peter and Lara, maybe Tony and Jerry too; they'd all go to Fred's and pretend this afternoon never happened.

Hesam had finished restocking their ambulance. Peter had been right. It was an easy duty today. He headed for the locker room to change into street clothes before leaving the station.

Tony appeared to be doing an impersonation of Richard Simmons.

"I believe in you! Pump out those compressions, boys! You can DO IT!"

Hesam had to laugh. Apparently Tony was making the best of the fact that his shorts had vertical red and white stripes.

"Hey, Tony, Jerry, Sam. I'm thinking of taking out the rookie tonight. He lost a guy today. Family man pinned in a car. I think he could use a pick me up."

The room sobered a bit as every guy in the room couldn't help but think back to the first victim they'd lost, and the second and the third. When someone dies in your hands, looking to your for help, you don't forget.

"Yeah, man. Fred's?"

Hesam nodded.

"What time?"

Hesam frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. I haven't talked to Peter yet."

Sam frowned, "He didn't come in with you?"

Hesam shrugged. "The guy had had a bad day and the bus was clean with a simple restock."

Tony snorted. "_Hesam_, you're such a push over. You NEVER let a Rookie just walk."

Hesam blushed as the rest of the guys in the locker room berated him for his lack of judgement.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Look I'm gonna give him and Lara and call and get a time frame."

Hesam beat a hasty retreat from the locker as the topic switched to teasing him about his relationship with Lara.

He pulled out his cell and called Peter's number.

"Hey, Hesam, what's up?"

"Nothing much. The guys are getting together at Fred's tonight. I think it'd be a good idea for you to join us. Lara'll be there."

Despite her profession, Lara and Peter had actually become pretty good friends over the last few weeks. It helped, Hesam guessed, that Peter got to feel smug every time he saw how happy Hesam and she were together.

"Um, I appreciate the invite but I'm not sure I'll be able to make it. Um, this is gonna sound strange after what I just told you but I actually have dinner plans with my brother now."

Hesam's eyebrows rose.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I went over to see my Mom and he was there. He said he wanted to have dinner and…"

There was a long pause.

"Well, I just couldn't say no."

Hesam thought he understood.

"Family, right?" And he thought he heard a sigh on the other end.

"Yeah, it's just one of those things." Peter said.

"I get it. Well, we're planning on staying out pretty late. When's your dinner?"

Peter chuckled. "Um, I don't actually know. Nathan said he'd text me when and where."

"That's kind of weird." Hesam said.

"Well, that's life being related to a public figure. I think Nathan schedules his dumps in advance and sends a text message to the toilet."

Hesam laughed companionably with his partner on the phone.

"Okay. Well, I guess give me a call when you find out. You can always swing by after."

"Sounds good. I'll let you know as soon as I do." Peter said and ended the call.

Hesam suddenly felt much better about how his day was going.


	8. Day 68: The No Call No Show

Okay, this is where it gets hairy. I could go ahead and wait for tomorrows episode to start writing this part but, at this point, I've got my own story and conclusion in mind. So, I guess this chapter and the ones following it will most likely constitute an alternate reality/storyline from that portrayed on the screen, which is a first for me. I'm just going to follow Hesam and Lara in my imagination as they try to track down their friend.

* * *

**Day 68**

"Hassan!"

Hesam winced, both at the butchering of his name and because, even though Peter didn't show last night, he'd had quite a lot of fun with Lara and they guys.

"Yeah, boss." He said contritely, ducking his head into the office. "I'm just about to suit up. I'll be good to go for five, I promise."

The stringy man glared. "I doubt you'll be able to check your equipment and stocks in this amount of time."

_Well, certainly not if you keep me here much longer._

"I'm sure Peter's got that taken care of, Boss." Hesam said and started to move away from the little office and the little man.

"You mean he's not with you?"

Hesam stopped cold. He was late and he knew it and, frankly, he'd felt okay about it because 1) Peter owed him for taking off yesterday and 2) Peter was never, never late.

"Hassan!" The supervisor said testily and Hesam responded in kind.

"Hesam, my name is Hesam. I've been working here for three years and my name is _Hesam_."

"Alright, Hesam, where is your partner?"

Hesam frowned. "Have you called him?"

The man sighed. "Yes, I've called him, just like I called you."

"I don't know what to tell you, Boss."

"Well, I know what to tell you, Hesam. A no call, no show means immediate termination."

Hesam gulped. He felt like he should say something to try and save Peter's job but nothing came to mind.

"However," the man continued, "given Peter's already exemplary record and the fact that he picks up shifts every single time he's asked, you can tell him that I will give him a pass this once."

Hesam finally noticed how exhausted the man appeared. Hesam never really payed much attention to his supervisor. Ted, that was his name, it was right there on the cheap plastic placard, but Hesam never called him that. It was always 'Boss' or 'Sir'. Looking at him now, _really_ looking at him, Hesam saw a man that looked sucked dry, like a walking, talking piece of human jerky; surrounded by his neat stacks of paperwork that never seemed to get any smaller and a wall of pictures of the medics who'd died on his watch. Maybe that was why Hesam hated to take too close a look. He still couldn't face that picture of Mikey's grinning face and the arm around the boys shoulder.

"I'll tell him, Ted. But I'm sure he wouldn't miss without a damn good reason."

Ted sighed again. "Yeah, I agree. Look you can't go out without your partner and while I'm very tempted to give you some slop work around the station, I think you'd better spend this shift talking to your partner, making sure he's okay and that he never leaves you high and dry again. Knowing this rookie, I'd check the emergency rooms first. He probably gave himself a concussion getting a cat out of a tree."

And Ted waved vaguely to the door in his typical dismissal.

Hesam paused at the door. "Thanks, Ted."

He hoped a thanks might help.

* * *

"Peter." Hesam continued knocking on the door. "Peter, you there? You okay?"

Hesam had actually taken Ted's advice and called every hospital Peter could reasonably be expected to have been taken to last night. Peter wasn't registered as having made a visit and none of the John Does matched his description. Hesam was now knocking on Peter's door and getting more and more irritated the longer he stood there.

He pulled out his cell phone and tried Peter's cell again. The phone started ringing on the line and then Hesam heard it ringing in the apartment. That was it!

Peter had probably gone out with his big bigot of a brother last night and gotten wasted. Hesam had actually been starting to get afraid. So much so, that he now suddenly found himself very angry.

When Peter's voicemail picked up he left a message.

"Listen, Rookie, a no call no show is no good. You should be fired right now. Call me as soon as you get this. I mean it."

As he started walking down the hall he noticed the crack in one of the doors.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Portio."

"Oh, Hesam." The elderly woman breathed. "Oh, you can tell me, can't you? I've just been so worried about it all night. I can't sleep, not that I can ever sleep with my back the way it is. And my hip has been bothering me so much these past few days. You know, I thought I wasn't going to make it to the necessary yesterday afternoon. You just don't know, son. Getting old's a cheap trick and Peter's always so nice. Such a shame."

Hesam had to smile at the way the elderly woman rambled on and on but the way she mentioned Peter was setting his little hairs on end again.

"Mrs. Portio, what are you talking about? What about Peter?"

The wrinkled face crumpled in on itself.

"Oh, and I thought you would know. Since you two are together…"

Hesam sighed. It seemed he was never going to dissuade the old bird from her conviction that he and Peter were partners in more ways than one.

"Mrs. Portio," Hesam interrupted the ramble before it could go much farther. "Where is Peter?"

The woman looked a bit annoyed but continued.

"I don't know." She said as though speaking to a slow child. "That was what I was going to ask you. If you knew where they took him."

Now the hairs were definitely standing up.

"Who took him, Mrs. Portio?"

"Oh, a man. I was about to walk down to get my mail and a tall man. Oh so well dressed and neat. I love you boys, I really do, but it wouldn't hurt you to put a little pomade in your hair once in a while. How messy hair became a style I'll never know. When I was…"

"Mrs. Portio, please, who took Peter?"

"I told you I don't know, Hesam. Just a man. He was tall with brown hair and, oh I didn't see what color his eyes were. He was wearing these very nice glasses. Horn rimmed, you know. Ah, I love a man in horn rimmed glasses. So distinguished. Anyway, he was carrying Peter, the poor dear and, of course, I was worried. He said that Peter wasn't feeling well and he was taking him to a hospital. Such a shame."

Now she looked at Hesam with accusation. "I was hoping _you_ would tell me where they took him."

Hesam gulped convulsively. He knew that the man in the horn rimmed glasses hadn't taken Peter to any hospital and that Peter wouldn't miss a shift unless he was physically prevented from doing so.

"I wish I could tell you, Mrs. Portio. I really wish I could."


	9. Day 68: The Cup of Coffee

**Day 68**

"Go away!"

Hesam smiled at the muffled and sleepy voice on the other side of the apartment door. Lara opened the door with one hand while the other vigorously rubbed at her eye.

She favored him with a sleepy grin and then frowned.

"I'm not happy."

Hesam smiled. "Who has made you unhappy? I will track the scoundrel down and kick his ass."

"Well, then I have good news and bad news for you." Lara said as she moved away from the door and let him follow her into her apartment. "The good news is it will be very easy for you to find the guy and the bad news is it's you."

While she was speaking Lara had stumbled back to her Murphy bed and started fumbling for the release. Hesam placed his hands gently on her shoulders and sat her down in one of the kitchen/dining/living room chairs.

"You sit." He handed her the cup of coffee he had brought for her and then took over folding the bed up and placing it in its closet.

"Oh you brought _coffee_. Oh you dear sweet saint of a man. All is forgiven."

She took off the lid of the cup and inhaled deeply, then sighed, "I love you."

Hesam couldn't help but smile. "I love you, too."

"I love you three." She countered.

"I love you four." Hesam replied falling into the rhythm of a game they often played.

"I love you five." Lara announced.

"I love you sex."

Lara giggled at the silly and expected response. "Then why'd you put away the bed?"

Now Hesam sighed. Things had been so lovely but it was time to get to the purpose of his visit.

"Wait." Lara said then. "Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Yeah, that's part of why I'm here. Peter didn't show up for work this morning."

Lara was instantly alert, the sleepy playfulness gone.

"You think it might be that accident with the family man?" She said concernedly.

"Maybe at first, but I went by his apartment. His neighbor, Mrs. Portio?"

Lara rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know Mrs. Portio. I fancy anyone who has ever ventured down Peter's hall has met Mrs. Portio."

"Well, Peter's not answering his home or cell phone. When I went by I could hear his cell ringing inside."

"You think he's avoiding you?" Lara said and Hesam could practically hear the wheels turning in her head.

"Well, yeah I did. But then I talked to Mrs. Portio. She said yesterday a man carried Peter, unconscious out of his apartment. He said he was taking Peter to the hospital but I had already checked all the

hospitals."

Lara raised her eyebrows at that.

"You know Peter."

Lara smiled and nodded. "You're right. So, this guy, did he say who he was?"

"No, but he got props for style from Mrs. Portio. She apparently liked his hair, his suit, his tie, even his horn rimmed glasses."

Lara sipped thoughtfully on her coffee for a long pause.

"What?" Hesam asked. Lara just raised her eyebrows. "I know that look, Lara. You've got something to say but you're worried it'll piss me off."

Lara smiled a little sadly, "You know me too well."

"I know you the absolute perfect amount." Hesam said and placed his hand encouragingly on hers.

"It's just, I know how close you and Peter have become but have you thought maybe Peter's not in a broken arm hospital?"

Hesam didn't catch it right away but soon was sitting back, his mouth forming a silent, "Oh."

"You mean, a mental hospital?" He said incredulously. "Who would put Peter in a mental hospital?"

"Well, last night you said Peter might not be coming because he was meeting his brother, right? And his brother wouldn't let on the when and where? I mean, what if it was an intervention?"

Hesam really thought about that possibility for a bit but eventually was shaking his head.

"No, no I don't think so. What kind of counselor would leave out Peter's partner in an intervention?"

Lara sighed, "Maybe that's what they're intervening, him having a partner. I mean, him having the job he has. His family could see it as self-destructive behavior."

Hesam's eyes grew wide. Was that possible? Could Peter's family actually believe that being a paramedic was not only beneath him but suicidal?

Then he shook his head again. "No, I still don't buy it. At the end of an intervention you don't carry the person out. They walk out. No, something weird is going on, Lara. I don't know how to describe this but I know, somehow I just know that Peter's in trouble."

Lara looked at him for a long moment and then nodded, as though a decision had been made.

"Okay, we'll probably feel a little silly in a few days but I'd rather feel stupid for trying to help Peter when he didn't need it than leave him high and dry when he really does need us."

Hesam smiled. Good glories did he love this woman.

"Where do we start?"

"Well, all things being equal the simplest solution is usually the correct one." Lara said leadingly.

"Okay, Mrs. Occam, where do we start?"

Lara smiled up at him. "I love that you caught that." And she gave him a quick kiss. "_I_ am going to get dressed _you _are going to look up Peter's mom's address. Then _we_ are going to call on Mrs. Petrelli and see if she knows where her son is."

"Wouldn't it just be easier to call?" Hesam said as Lara rifled through the built in chest of drawers in the tiny studio.

"Probably, but I can't tell if someone is lying as easily over the phone." Lara said as she made her way to the bathroom.

"You can tell when people are lying?" Hesam said, his tone of voice conveying how impressed he was.

"Well," Lara's voice echoed slightly as it carried through the thin walls and door of the bathroom, "it's not an exact science. I mean, I'm not a walking polygraph, but yeah, I can generally tell when someone's not being upfront."

Lara emerged in a simple blue pencil skirt and matching double breasted jacket. The jacket was cut low and allowed the collar of the cream silk shirt to fold stylishly over the lapels. She wore no makeup but, despite having been out late the night before, there was a slight blush to her cheeks. He watched her with rapt attention as she ran a brush through her caramel waves and expertly applied concealer to the dark circles that did betray her truncated sleep.

Lara was doing a quick application of mascara when she noticed him watching. She blushed, setting off her pale skin and dark freckles beautifully. "I love it when you look at me like that." She said then.

"What? Like you're beautiful?" He said. "Can't be that special. Everyone looks at you like that."

Lara smiled again, but sadly. "I know you think so, you're crazy."

She turned around then. "You don't care that I have a snaggle tooth…"  
Hesam interrupted, "You _don't _have a snaggle tooth." He insisted.

Lara laughed, displaying the incisor that did indeed sit slightly above the rest of her upper teeth.

"Yes, I do, Love." She said happily. "It's a small one", she conceded, "but it's there and so is the scar on my forehead…

Hesam started to object again but, putting her finger to his lips, she hushed him.

"Don't get me wrong, Love. I don't feel bad about these things. I just love that you seem to think they don't exist. I love the fact that I'm not just pretty to you, I'm beautiful."

Hesam smiled. "Yes, you are beautiful." Hesam drew her into his lap for a hug.

"You also have incredibly well formed and quite large bosoms." He said smugly and gave them a playful squeeze.

Lara giggled her way out of his arms and headed for the door.

"I'm glad you're in uniform." She said then seriously. "Not many of your off duty clothes would really be appropriate for an audience with Angela Petrelli."

"Good grief." Hesam muttered. "She's not the freaking queen of England you know."

Lara stopped at the door and gave him a solumn look. "No, she's not. But she might as well be the queen of Manhattan. Hesam, don't underestimate these people."

Hesam was surprised by Lara's remark and was tempted to write it off as her prejudice against the wealthy but something in her eyes gave him pause.

He nodded slowly.

"Good." Lara said and then took a deep breath as though steeling herself against a storm and opened the apartment door.


	10. Day 68: The Jacket

**Day 68**

"Just so you know, I'm going to forget my jacket. Don't notice and, whatever you do, don't pick it up for me."

Hesam looked curiously at Lara. "What?"

Lara pulled back her outer jacket lapel and exposed the shadow of a wire running down one of the seams. "There's a recording device in the pocket that connects to this microphone. I can leave the jacket for up to an hour and it'll record pretty much any conversation that takes place in the room."

Hesam raised his eyebrows. "Wow! James Bond shit!" He said and added a low whistle.

Lara grinned, "I prefer Bourne, actually. He has much more respect for women. Not that that's saying much. I mean, I think Quagmire on Family Guy has more respect for women than James Bond."

Hesam laughed but then sobered as he saw the massively impressive entrance to the Petrelli home. This was where Peter had grown up? Wow. What was that like?

The bell apparently was a pull down deal, very fancy.

"You ready?" Hesam asked Lara.

She fiddled in her pocket and then nodded her head.

"Okay." Hesam said nervously and pulled the bell.

After an appropriate pause the same, dark and elegant woman Hesam had seen in the emergency room the night of the fire came to the door. Honestly, Hesam was kind of surprised that she appeared to answer her door herself.

"May I help you?" She said formally when she opened the door.

"Mrs. Petrelli. I don't know if you remember me…"

"Of course, I do. You're Peter's friend who insisted on taking him home after he tried to kill himself running into a burning building. Hesam, I believe?"

Hesam was shocked at her memory.

"Um, yeah, ah I mean, yes Ma'am. Hesam, Ma'am."

Hesam could feel Lara tensing beside him and knew she was holding in a laugh.

He sighed.

"Um, Mrs. Petrelli, may I introduce Lara Sladka. She and I are here about Peter."

Angela Petrelli's eyes widened an almost infinitesimal amount at the mention of her son's name but she held her hand out formally to Lara and, just as formally, ushered them into the front sitting room.

After offering them refreshment and making sure they were comfortably seated, she sat herself, with impeccable posture of course, and asked, "So, what's this about Peter?"

"Um, Ma'am." Hesam began. "I'm not sure how to start. Peter didn't show up for work today."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Perhaps he is finally rethinking his career choice."

"Well, um, the thing is his neighbor saw someone carrying him out of his apartment. She said she stopped the man and he told her that Peter was unwell and that he was taking him to a hospital but we've checked all the hospitals and can't find him."

Angela blinked three times in rapid succession but that was the extent of her reaction to this news.

"Could she…Peter's neighbor that is, could she describe this man who was carrying my son?"

Hesam sighed. "Not really, she said he was well dressed, um, he had horn rimmed glasses. Sorry, not much to go on there. She's really old."

Angela's eyes had narrowed at some point, Hesam wasn't sure when but they were little more than slivers when he glanced back up to her face.

"Ma!" a voice called loudly from the front door. "I have to talk to you. It's about Peter."

And Nathan Petrelli, the junior senator of the state of New York, walked briskly into the room.

When he saw Hesam and Lara sitting across from his mother he stopped short.

"Nathan, how good of you to stop by, though you could have called ahead. Meet Hesam, I'm sorry dear, I never caught your last name?"

"Siddig." Hesam supplied.

"Hesam Siddig and Lara Sladka." She began again and Hesam was once more struck by her impressive memory. "Hesam is Peter's work partner and Lara is one of his friends. They were just here telling me," And here her voice seemed to drop the temperature of the room, "how Peter's neighbor saw a man wearing horn rimmed glasses carrying Peter out of his apartment."

Nathan swallowed and looked away from the woman's sub arctic gaze.

"So, do you have an explanation for this? You said you had to speak to me about Peter."

Nathan cleared his throat. "Um, yes. Peter was…I was on my way to see Peter when I got a call from his cell phone. Apparently he had been taken ill and a friend of his took him to the hospital."

Hesam narrowed his eyes. "This friend called you from Peter's cell phone?"

"Yes. Yes, he did."

"But, Nathan, Hesam here has called the hospitals and they had no record of Peter being admitted." Angela said then.

"Well, uh, he wasn't actually admitted but he wasn't feeling well and I insisted he stay at my hotel room."

Hesam started to say something else but Lara grabbed his arm suddenly.

"Well, that's a relief. We were just worried. Peter had had such a bad day on the job yesterday. And it wasn't like him to miss work."

"That's completely understandable." Nathan said quickly.

"Just tell him to give us a call, okay?"

"I'll be sure and do that, young lady. Thank you for your concern."

"Oh, no problem at all. We can show ourselves out. Good-bye!"

Lara kept a vice like grip on Hesam's arm all the way out the door.

As soon as they were safely down the side walk he fairly erupted.

"He's lying! No one called him from the hospital or on the way on Peter's cell. It was still in his apartment this morning!" Hesam said.

"Of course he's lying. I know that, you know that, even Mrs. Petrelli knows that."

"Then why did we just leave? Why didn't you call him on his bullshit? Or at least let me?"

Lara rolled her eyes.

"Because he'd have just kept on lying but you know what he's doing right now?"

Hesam just stared, completely at a loss."

Lara grinned. "Right now, Nathan Petrelli is explaining to his mother and my favorite accessory what really happened to his little brother Peter."

Hesam almost slapped himself.

"The jacket!"

Lara nodded, "Yes, my Love. The jacket."


	11. Day 68: The Recording

**Day 68**

--Beginning of recording

"Tell me, Nathan. Why did an old woman see Noah Bennet carry your brother out of his apartment?"

Pause.

"For God's sake, Nathan. You sent him off to that place? Your own brother?"

"He wouldn't let it go, Ma. I asked him, I _begged_ him to let it go and he wouldn't."

"Of course he wouldn't. Peter is all heart. You can't expect him to go along with something like this."

Another pause.

"You promised me that Claire and Peter were safe, Nathan. You promised me."

"I promised you? What did you promise me, Ma? You promised to keep Claire occupied! This is your fault, not mine!"

"Don't you dare speak to me in that fashion, Nathan Petrelli."

"I had one job for you, Ma. I asked you to keep Claire out of this and you couldn't manage it, could you? Who do you think she called as soon as she found out about Matt Parkman? Huh? Peter! I went to talk to him, just to talk."

"Yes, that's why you brought along Noah Bennet, obviously, because you just wanted to talk."

"I asked him to back off and he wouldn't. Peter doesn't have the heart to do what needs to be done here, Ma."

"Did you give your brother a kiss, Nathan? Is that how you signaled that bloodhound to swoop in?"

A sigh. "Please, Ma, the theatrics are unnecessary."

Another long silence.

"There's a bigger problem now anyway."

Pause.

"Am I meant to guess, Nathan or are you going to tell me?"

Pause.

"There was an accident of some kind. The plane…the plane with the first group of detainees went down, Ma. The plane crashed."

"Peter?" The voice on the recording was choked.

"We haven't found his body. Many of the detainees survived the crash and with Peter's ability…"

"Peter doesn't have the ability to regenerate anymore Nathan. I've seen the proof of that myself. The only ability I know of him retaining is the ability to fly."

"Well, then, he more than anyone else on that plane should have survived."

"What are you not telling me, Nathan?"

"The detainees were restrained. I don't…I can't be sure Peter survived."

This time the pause was several minutes long, only interrupted with subdued sniffs and the sound of someone pulling a tissue from the gilded box on one of the side tables.

"Do you know why God loved Abel's gift more than Cain's Nathan?"

"You're giving me a Bible lesson _now_, Ma?"

"It wasn't because he liked the actual sacrifice better. It says that God judged what was in Abel's heart. See, Cain gave because he felt it was a responsibility, because he felt it was expected of him. Abel gave because he loved God. Cain gave because he wanted God to be pleased with him. Abel gave because he wanted God to be pleased. Cain knew it and he knew that no matter what he did he would never measure up to the heart of his brother, so he killed him."

The voice paused and then went on.

"I know you're doing what you think is right despite what your heart is telling you, but Nathan, that's why you will always feel like less than Peter. Because Peter follows his heart. Be careful, Nathan. You've already betrayed your brother, don't repeat another Bible story."

"This isn't the time for theatrics, Ma."

There was the sound of footsteps echoing from the room and then the front door opening and closing.

After another, much longer pause came the sound of the front door bell.

"I suppose that's you dear, coming to retrieve your jacket. I hope that you have gleaned some useful information. Be careful, dear. You are dealing with some very dangerous and very powerful men. But, thank you, for trying to help my son. If you find him, let him know I did what I could…and that I love him."

--End of recording


	12. Day 68: The Truth

**Day 68:**

Hesam and Lara had listened to the recording in silence but had been shocked by the last bit; the message directly from Mrs. Angela Petrelli to them.

"How did she know?" Lara muttered.

"That's not the question. The question is why didn't she let on." Hesam countered.

"Maybe she did. Maybe that whole conversation was for our benefit, I mean, think about it. They said Peter could fly, for crying out loud."

Hesam shook his head, as though he could somehow dislodge the confusing conversation from his memory.

"Though, there was that jump." Lara said then.

"What?" Hesam asked. "What jump? What are you talking about?"

Lara grinned for an instant. "The day we met, you remember? It was the day that guy tried to dive off the Wolsey building."

Hesam snapped his fingers. "Yeah, yeah. I could have killed Peter that day. He jumped off and controlled the fall to the fire escape."

Lara didn't say anything.

"You're doing it again. You're trying to figure out how to say something to me."

Lara sighed. "You know my story ended up being _Peter Petrelli's Spectacular Save_."

"Yeah, I remember talking about the proliferation of alliteration in it. Hee, hee. It was kind of a joke in the cab for a bit. Get it? Proliferation of alliteration?"

Lara scowled.

"Um, yeah, I remember." Hesam said quickly.

"Okay, well that wasn't my first take on it. See, what Peter did was unbelievable."

Hesam interrupted. "Unbelievably stupid. He could have gotten himself killed."

"That's just it." Lara exclaimed. "He should have."

Hesam frowned.

"There was a camera man there who caught the whole thing on tape. They didn't use it because it was a suicide attempt and there were some legal issues involved but the tape was there. I kept watching it over and over and I couldn't get over how it was just not possible."

Hesam was really listening now.

"I presented the problem to a math geek I know and he said that according to the laws of physics there is _no way_ what happened on that tape could actually happen. I was going to write a story about _that_ but my editor nipped it in the bud. He said it was too x-files and would make the paper look like a joke, especially since we were talking about the brother of a well respected senator."

Hesam's eyes grew huge suddenly.

"Keisha."

Lara looked puzzled. "Who?"

"You remember, I told you I met Peter's mother after the fire?"

Lara nodded.

"It was because Peter ran into the building and pulled out a little girl named Keisha and got a bad case of smoke inhalation. In the ambulance, on the way to the hospital, Keisha told me…she told me that…that Peter had flown her out of the building."

Hesam stood up and started pacing.

"I didn't believe her. I mean, why _would_ I believe her. People don't fly and she'd just been through a terrible shock. There was no reason to believe her then but…"

Lara nodded. "But now, the fire, the jumper, that conversation between Peter's Mom and brother."

Lara stood up and grabbed Hesam's arm.

"Hesam, Peter can fly." Lara said quietly but with utter conviction.

"Peter can fly." Hesam repeated back with equal conviction.

They both sat down.


	13. Day 69: The Morning After

**Day 69**

"Hesam, wake up."

Hesam opened his eyes to a blurry, unfamiliar world.

"Huh?" He grunted sleepily.

Then he smelled the coffee.

"Coffee? Where'sit?" He felt a warm cup being pressed into his hand and forced his fingers to grip it. He sat up straighter in the chair in which he had, apparently, spent the night; sipping the coffee with one hand and rubbing his neck with the other. After a few sips he switched hands; both to cool his hand which was becoming uncomfortably hot and to apply heat to his neck muscles.

Lara had seemed to fold herself up into the small armchair opposite him, her knees tight to her chest, her chin rested thoughtfully on them and her arms were wrapped protectively around her legs.

"I fell asleep?" Hesam asked after a few more sips.

Lara nodded, then added. "We both did. Interesting as that tape is, I guess you can only listen to it so many times before nodding off."

Hesam noted that Lara hadn't smiled since waking him. It was very odd and made him feel uncomfortable. He reached out a hand and caressed her cheek lightly.

"You okay?" He asked gently.

To his surprise, her eyes filled with tears and she ducked her head behind the protection of her knees, hiding her face and her fears.

"Hey." Hesam said soothingly. Putting the coffee down, he knelt on the floor and hugged her as best he could. This only seemed to encourage more tears and soon Lara was sobbing wholeheartedly into his shoulder.

Hesam just continued to hug her tightly and, not knowing what to say, made what he hoped were reassuring noises.

After a good long cry, Lara pulled back out of his arms.

"I'm sorry." She said as she grabbed one of the rough napkins from last nights take out order. "It's just. I'm so angry and sad and scared. Damn, am I scared. I don't know what to think anymore. Peter has this…_these_ abilities, and there are more people like him and they're being hunted and Peter might be dead. _Dead_, Hesam. Who would kill Peter? He's such a… I mean, who would…how could you ever look at Peter and see anything to be afraid of?"

Hesam sat back in his chair and thought for a moment.

"You know what's funny? The last time I saw Peter, we were talking about his brother. I thought that all Petrelli's talk about 'dangerous people' was directed at me, at my people." Hesam chuckled. "I actually said something like 'we're different so we're scary'."

Lara sighed. "Do you think he's dead?"

Hesam felt something tighten in his throat. "I don't know. Maybe. But until I know for sure, one way or another, I'm not going to stop doing what I can to help."

"But what _can_ we do to help? We don't know where this plane took off, where it was going, where it crashed…we don't know anything."

Hesam frowned. "No, we know a few things. We know that there is someone named Claire who is involved with both Nathan and Angela Peterelli and who they thought would care about Peter enough to help him. She will probably know more than we do and will probably need all the help she can get. We also know that Petrelli's men were going after a guy named…" Hesam checked the pad of paper on which he had been taking notes the night before. "…Matt Parkman. If we can find out something about him, we might have somewhere to start."

Lara nodded. "What about Angela Petrelli? Maybe if we go back to the house she could give us some more information?"

Hesam thought about that for a minute but then shook his head. "No, her message pretty clearly indicated that she had done what she could, or at least what she was prepared to do."

"But Peter is her son." Lara said indignantly.

"Yeah, and so is Nathan."

They both thought about that for a long moment.

"You know, I used to feel sorry for Peter and I couldn't figure out why. I just…he just put off this sad lost puppy vibe even though he was almost always, you know, happy and cracking jokes. It must be hard to be so different."

Hesam snorted at Lara's comment.

"If you're gonna feel sorry for him, I think it should be because of his family."

Lara bit her lip, and then looked up at Hesam and suddenly they were both laughing.

"Okay, that's better." Hesam said as he pulled Lara into a hug. "See? We're okay. We can do this."

"I'm really pissed, Hesam." Lara mumbled into his shoulder. "Peter'd never hurt a fly and someone has hurt him and that's making me very, _very_ angry."

Hesam smiled and released her grudgingly.

"That's good, actually. Anger is a more useful emotion than fear."

"Where did you get that?" Lara said as she stood up and started stretching.

"The fount of wisdom that is Arnold Schwarzenegger, of course."

Lara laughed.

"Okay, Terminator. Where do you want to start? With this girl Claire or with Matt Parkman?"

Hesam didn't hesitate. "Well, seeing as we have a first and last name with Parkman, let's start there."

"But they were talking about Parkman being taken away." Lara said with a frown. "Won't he be gone?"

Hesam nodded. "Probably, but so is Peter and yet here we're looking for him. So…"

Lara grinned, catching on. "So, we go looking for who's looking for Matt Parkman."

Hesam smiled. "Exactly. We compare notes and see what we can see."

"On our way, I'll call up what contacts I have in the FAA and see if there are any reports of planes down."  
Hesam started to say something but she cut him off.

"I know that whoever is doing this probably wouldn't have reported it. It's a long shot but I have to try it."

She sighed in frustration.

"I wish I even knew in which direction they were flying or how long the plane had been in the air. I could reach out to AP contacts and see if there were any eye witness reports of some kind of UFO or crash. I don't even know when the plane took off."

Hesam thought about it. "Well, we know it would have to be after I talked to Peter, right?"

"Yeah, so anytime between around 6:30 PM when Peter called you and 7:00 AM when Nathan showed up at his mother's house." Lara said sardonically. "That doesn't really narrow things down, Love."

Hesam frowned. "This isn't going to be very easy."

Lara laughed.

"Yeah, it's funny how difficult uncovering government conspiracies about unjustly incarcerating people who can fly has become."

Hesam smiled. "Smart ass." He said chidingly.

Lara snuggled in for another hug.

"It's amazing," She said softly.

"What is?" Hesam asked.

"The whole world is upside down and you can still make me laugh. I still feel safe."

Hesam smiled, suddenly extremely pleased with himself.

* * *

**Unfortunately, at this point I find there are just too many unknowns for my poor imagination to cope. I'm going to have to wait and see what happens in tonights episode for my brain to make the decision to follow the storyline or just blow it off compeltely and go all in on an AU. **

**Heh, heh. If I stick to the main storyline that would make this story a double tag, wouldn't it? I've definitely never done that before. I hope I'll have the proper combination of time/energy/inspiration to write a nice substantial chapter after the eppy tonight. **

**On a personal note, isn't it AWESOME to actually be excited about an upcoming episode of Heroes again? Tim Kring & Co. FTW!!!**


	14. Day 69: The Picked Lock

**From here on out, there may be additional spoilers for, um, the episode AFTER A Clear and Present Danger, whose title I managed to miss. Lol. Also, most likely, it will begin to diverge from the cannon of the actual show.**

* * *

**Day 69**

Hesam knocked on the apartment door again and sighed.

Lara's mouth quirked into a suppressed smile.

"What?" Hesam asked defensively.

"It's just you look all grumpy faced and disappointed but, Hesam, we knew he wouldn't be here. You didn't actually expect someone to open the door did you?"

Hesam gave her what he hoped was a withering gaze.

"Well, yeah, I hoped someone would open the door. A roommate, wife, girlfriend, someone."

Lara stretched out an imperious arm.

"Stand aside please." Hesam sidestepped giving her access to the door and to his amazement she took out a small case that contained two long thin metal devices that could only be described as…

"Lock picking tools?" Hesam asked, incredulously.

Lara grinned impishly. "Hey, I'm a reported. I thought it might come in handy."

Then she bent and examined the dead bolt.

"Actually, I learned how to pick locks when I was a kid from my Dad."

Hesam's eyebrows raised and he opened his mouth to ask a question but Lara headed him off.

"And no, my Dad wasn't some kind of criminal. Quite the opposite actually. My Dad was a do-it-yourselfer. He and my Mom were so busy helping other people out, they didn't seem to notice they didn't actually have money to spare. My brother used to call them the world's poorest philanthropists."

Lara inserted the thicker tool that was bent near the grip.

"One day Dad decided he wanted all the locks in the house to fit a single key. So, rather than go to the store and get new locks and doorknobs…"

Lara now took the thinner, straight tool and inserted it into the top of the lock and began fiddling with it.

"…he took all the locks apart and reset the tumblers himself. That's when he taught me that a lock works by depressing the bottom and adjusting how the top tumblers fall."

There was a faint, yet familiar clicking noise and Lara, grinning, turned the more sturdy lower tool, opening the door.

She jumped to her feet with a very pleased smile on her face.

"It's just a matter of gravity." She said smugly.

Hesam smiled back, "You have no idead how hot you are right now, do you?"

Lara blushed and ducked her head. _Damn,_ she could be so _cute!_

They walked into the apartment and Hesam suddenly felt like a criminal. He had a quick vision of some huge burly man rounding the corner with a pistol and called out,

"Hello?"

Lara followed suit.

"Anyone here?" she called. "We're friends of Peter Petrelli. We're looking for Matt Parkman?"

There was no answer but Hesam tried one more time.

"Hello? Mr. Parkman?"

Still nothing.

"Well," Lara sighed. "I guess he's not here."

"But we already knew that didn't we?" Hesam said grimly as they looked about the room. To say the place was trashed would be a bit dramatic but there were signs of a struggle: papers strewn about the floor, an upturned chair, and the most telling sign, a broken window.

Lara's voice was tight. "Who are these people, Hesam? What makes them think they can just kidnap people like this?"

Hesam stared grimly at a picture of a rather pudgy man in a policeman's uniform holding a young girl. "I don't know. But they seem to have a thing for men in uniform."

He said and help up the photo.

"You're right." Lara said. "Peter's a paramedic, this guys a cop."

Lara sat down suddenly.

"Hey." Hesam said and knelt by her concerned. "Hey, what is it?"

Lara smiled shakily. "It's just, it hit me again that there really are dark evil forces out there kidnapping people and hauling them away to gulags. These people don't care that Peter saves lives or that this Matt is a cop, a freaking _cop_ Hesam!" She shook her head.

"I'm fine. I just had a 'holy crap' moment." Lara looked back at Hesam but he was staring at the floor.

"Lara?" He asked in a strangely hollow voice. "You don't think these people…you don't think they'd go after kids, do you?"

Lara paled at the thought and she shuddered. "I hope not. Why?"

Hesam picked up some of the papers on the floor and showed them to her.

"The girl in the photo, she's definitely not here and someone must have drawn these."

The papers were covered with sketches. Lara examined them.

"Well, I won't be sworn to it, but I don't think a child drew these. Also, I don't see any evidence of a child living here recently. I think maybe he's maybe a weekend or holiday Dad?" Then Lara frowned. "Hesam, _look_ at this!"

Lara was holding one of the pictures in shaking hands.

Hesam examined it with her. It appeared to a picture of a pudgy dark haired man and a woman standing in front of the broken window.

"I don't get it." Hesam said finally.

"Hesam, this is a picture of Parkman being abducted. That thing in his neck? It's a projectile stunner."

Hesam still didn't get it.

"Um, still not getting why this is so…" He stopped cold.

"Exactly," Lara said. "It's not like his kidnappers would just stop and let him sketch out the process. He must have made these drawings beforehand."

"And this girl!" Hesam exclaimed. "She's come to warn him, she must be this Claire."

Lara gulped. "Apparently, um, this Parkman guy can see the future."

"But that doesn't make sense!" Hesam said frustrated. "If he sees a future where he gets zapped and hauled away, why would he sit around drawing sketches of it? Why wouldn't he, I don't know, run?"

Lara frowned and bit her lip. Even in the circumstances, Hesam couldn't help noting how adorable it made her look.

"Maybe…maybe he goes into a trance or something? Like Native Americans or mediums, like in the movies their voices go funny and when it's all over they don't remember? Maybe something takes over him that knows the future and draws the pictures like it's leaving a message." Lara shuddered. "Actually, that's kinda creepy."

Hesam didn't answer.

"Hesam?" Lara turned but Hesam was squatting on the floor and didn't acknowledge her.

"Hesam!" She said again.

"Lara!" He yelled suddenly and shooting up grabbed her arm. "Run!"


	15. Day 69: The Bug in the Room

**Day 69**

"Sir," The technician called. "Sir, we've got activity at the Parkman home."

The pale man who appeared to be the person in authority in the room turned slowly.

"What kind of activity, Airman?" He queried.

"Sir, a man and a woman. They appear to be looking for Parkman. I've heard them mention Peter Petrelli's name as well and also the name 'Claire'."

The pale man's dark eyes lit appreciably.

"Sir!" Another technician said then. "Sir, I've identified the man, Sir. His name is Hesam Siddig. He's a New York City Paramedic and worked with Petrelli, Sir. In fact, he was his partner."

He walked over to the pale man and handed him a thin file. "No joy yet on the woman, Sir."

The pale man nodded absently as he opened the file. It didn't just look thin, it was thin. Not much information.

The pale man shut the folder and seemed to consider.

"Let me hear the room apartment. Let me hear what they're saying."

An airman flipped a switch and suddenly the two voices in the far away apartment filled the room.

"_You don't think these people…you don't think they'd go after kids, do you?"_

The pale man listened to the conversation with his head down but raised it sharply when the two began speculating as to how the pictures were drawn.

"That's it. Take them into custody." He said firmly.

"Sir?" A marine Sergeant seemed shocked. "Sir, I thought we were only authorized to take in abnormals, Sir."

The pale man turned on the Sergeant fiercely. "This Hesam is a close companion of an abnormal who appears to have intimate knowledge of abnormal abilities as well as our operation. If that doesn't spell abnormal, I don't know what does. You take them both into custody and you use whatever means necessary."

"Sir!" The first airman who'd spoken interrupted then. "Sir, they're gone."

The pale man looked up quickly at the video feed, at an empty room.

"What do you mean, they're gone? How? Why?"

The airman look flustered. "I don't know, Sir. One minute they were talking the next minute the man yelled run and they, they took off, Sir. They ran, Sir."

The pale man gave a loud and frustrated sigh.

"Find them. Get a fix on them and as soon as you have them isolated, take them into custody."

The pale man fixed the Marine Sergeant with an icy stare. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" The Sergeant yelled.

"Good." The pale man turned and headed toward a sectioned off area that appeared to be his office. "Let me know the minute you find them or there is any other activity on the hot spots."

Only when he was out of sight would the men and women in the room exchange worried glances.

* * *

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to all the thoughtful reviews from people to whom I can't reply. This story is now much more complicated than I had originally planned. I've had to throw out the ending I'd planned and pre-written. So, the encouragement is really very much appreciated.


	16. Day 69: The Chador

**Alright, at this point I have officially decided to disregard the show. At least, for the most part. Mini-rant but, really? (If you haven't seen Trust and Blood STOP READING!!!)**

**They kill D and...nothing. A whole plate full of nothing with a side of nothing and nothing pie for desert. I'm sorry but that pissed me OFF! And Peter all pit bull when we all know that's not how he would be with Nathan. He'd be hurt and betrayed and still trying to talk Nathan down. Because that's PETER dang it. Peter always thinks people can be, WILL be better. Sigh.**

**So, I say screw the Heroes writers. They're screwing me, after all. I'll go my own way from now on, sniff! Effing SNIFF! Rant over. Thanks for indulging my wrath.**

* * *

**Day 69**

Hesam and Lara peeked at the building across the street from behind the safety of the apartment door glass. Lara shuddered slightly as the van pulled up and the dark clad commandos piled out with ruthless efficiency.

"Come on." Hesam muttered. "We'll go out the back way."

Lara only nodded and let him pull her forward by the hand.

When they had walked a few blocks distance from Parkman's apartment building Hesam hailed a cab and asked to be taken to a nearby coffee shop.

"Hesam, we could have taken the subway." Lara said reprovingly.

"I'm not sure. There are CCTVs in the stations."

The implications of that statement seemed to hit Lara hard. Hesam watched her closely but she gathered herself with a few deep breaths.

"What are you thinking?" She asked as they arrived at their destination.

"Um, Holy Crap?" Hesam snorted. "Seriously? I have no idea. I'm trying to think of what to do next but I'm drawing a complete blank."

"Too bad Parkman didn't do anymore drawing." Lara sighed.

"Yes, it was very rude of him not to leave illustrated plans on how to rescue him. Short sighted,too." Hesam grunted irritably.

"Hesam."

"I'm sorry. I'm just freaking out a bit here."

Lara smiled. "You know, it's funny and stupid but that actually makes me feel better."

Hesam stopped short. "Why?"

"Well, this whole time I've kind of felt like that annoying crazy girl the hero is always stuck dragging along and you've seemed so…I don't know unshakeable." Lara shrugged. "It's stupid but it makes me feel better about being freaked out to know that you're feeling it a little too."

Hesam smiled. "Well, I guess that's something."

"Besides," Lara continued. "I at least have something we can do next." She patted her messenger bag. "I can check on all those lines I sent out this morning and see if I got a bite."

"Good thing this coffee shop has WiFi." Hesam commented as he opened the door for her.

Lara sat down and pulled out the laptop. But she hesitated after she had booted up.

"Hesam, do you think they can track me? Track my computer?"

Hesam thought about it for a moment. "I suppose they might be able to but how would they even know who we are?"

Lara thought about it another moment. "Okay, here's what we'll do. I'll log on and check my messages but we leave after 15 minutes and find another spot."

Hesam hesitated. "I don't know. That seems a bit excessive."

"Hesam, we just narrowly escaped from honest to goodness men in black. I don't think anything is excessive at this point."

"Good _point_." Hesam conceded and Lara rewarded him with a playful slap. "Okay, I'll watch the time. You check your email."

Lara nodded and logged on. She dutifully sifted through the myriad of responses her curious email had elicited but when Hesam called time nothing promising had turned up.

They changed hotspots, this time bouncing off the WiFi of a public library. After ten minutes, Lara made a curious noise and seemed to stare more intently at the screen. When the fifteen minute time limit rolled around Hesam was tempted to let it go for a bit longer. He decided to tack on another five minutes.

"Time." He finally announced.

"Okay, here we go." Lara said and, closing the laptop, started stuffing it back in her bag. It was then she noticed the dark van. "Hesam." She whispered.

He turned, following her gaze and then ducked down with her behind the stair railing. They had taken the additional precaution of not actually entering the library. They had, in fact, walked as far away from it as possible while still maintaining a decent signal. This time when the van emptied the men had shed most of their equipment and looked, more or less, casual.

"What do we do?" Lara whispered.

"Same thing we did last time. We'll go inside this building and find an exit that leads out to another street. We're fine. Thanks to you and your 15 minutes paranoia."

"At least I found something out." Lara said as they walked through the building. "I think I might know where Peter's plane went down."

"Where?"

"Arkansas." Lara answered.

"What makes you think so?"

"I've got a colleague and friend in Jacksonville." Lara began to explain.

"Florida?" Hesam interrupted.

"No, Arkansas."

"There's a Jacksonville, Arkansas?"

Lara sighed, slightly exasperated. "Yes, it's the home of the largest United States Air Force Base in the world, okay? Can I finish now?"

"Sorry." Hesam mumbled.

"Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, Lindsey." Lara went on. "My friend Lindsey says that she's hearing rumors about a plane going down or some kind of explosion outside of a place called Russellville. She says locals are saying a plane went down during the night, jets went over the crash site the next morning and _then_ there were several explosions."

Hesam paled. "They blew up the crash site."

Lara and Hesam had managed their few blocks distance on foot by this time and Lara had hailed a cab.

"Yes." She said as they climbed in the backseat. "They did. These people are really scary, Hesam."

"Where to, my friend?" The cab driver called casually.

Lara answered quickly. "The nearest ATM, please."

"There will be cameras." Hesam said quietly.

"You're right." Lara said thoughtfully. "I have an idea. Sir? I'm sorry, we need to go somewhere else first."

* * *

Hesam chuckled. "I never thought I'd see you wear a chador."

"Don't get used to it." Lara's voice emanated from behind the traditional Muslim garment. While it was unusual to see in New York City, it was not so unusual in the predominantly Muslim district in which they now found themselves.

"As long as you don't get used to this." Hesam said and rubbed his newly shaved jaw ruefully. He felt strangely naked and exposed without his beard but, he had to admit, he looked much different without it.

Lara, in her chador, was completely hidden from the cameras, yet relatively inconspicuous. She quickly used the ATM to withdraw the maximum amount allowed by all of their bank accounts and credit cards while Hesam waited in the taxi down the block. Lara insisted that the taxi not be visible in the camera's field of view.

As soon as she was in the car Lara pulled off the suffocating veil. "That, my Love. Is an outfit that would take a lot of getting used to."

Hesam hesitated. "You know, um, you know my family isn't that traditional…" His voice faltered. He felt strange bringing up family and religion so early in their relationship. Then again, they were on the run from men in black.

To his surprise Lara smiled. "Actually, it's not all bad."

She made a silly face at his reaction. "I know it's totally un-PC of me or liberated or whatever but, honestly, if it didn't actually draw attention to me, I'd be tempted to wear it all the time. There's something liberating as a woman about people not being able to judge you by your appearance."

She frowned then. "Of course, it would be totally different if it wasn't a choice."

Hesam nodded. "I never thought about it that way but, then again, I guess I never thought about it being a choice either."

"It must be so hard for Muslim women living abroad." Lara said thoughtfully, he brown puckered in a frown. "I mean, they wear those types of clothing to be modest but instead it draws extra attention to them. If they go around without it they must feel naked but if they wear it they're just as exposed."

To their surprise their cab driver chimed in on the conversation. "That is very well put, young lady." He said in heavily accented English. "It is hard to get my wife to leave the home. She feels this way very much."

Hesam smiled at Lara's concerned face.

"I love you." He said then.

"I love you, two." Lara said lightly.

"No, I mean it. We're running around and this is dangerous. It has me thinking, well, serious thoughts. I don't know how to say this but to say I love you and that doesn't seem enough."

Hesam paused for a fraction of a moment before plunging on.

"I hope that doesn't scare you or anything but it's true. I've loved you from the moment I first saw you. If I had any hope that you'd say yes, I'd have proposed weeks ago because…I can't imagine living my life without you. I guess what I'm saying is, if we live through this, would you marry me?"

Lara stared. She opened her mouth for a moment and then shut it again, her expression never changing.

"Please?" Hesam found himself saying.

That seemed to break Lara's trance. She laughed and Hesam's heart sank. He pulled back from her as though she were a fire and he was protecting himself from the searing heat.

"Oh no! NO!" Lara said, tears suddenly filling her eyes. "I mean, yes!"

She grabbed his arm. "I'm so sorry, Love. I mean, yes. Yes, I'll marry you!"

Hesam felt almost sick with relief.

"I'm sorry I just asked. I don't know what I was thinking. I was just, I guess, thinking that I have to hold on to you somehow…" But then Lara was kissing him and they were laughing and hugging and crying.

The cab driver, smiling widely, announced moments later that they were at their stop. He refused to accept any payment and wished them well on their journey.

Hesam held Lara close and then with a resolute breath they walked arm in arm into the train station.


	17. Day 71: The Cab

**I'm going to apologize in advance for spending a bit of time on Lara at the beginning of this chapter. I don't want to give anything away but I'll just say, it's not just rambling. There is a reason I am doing this. I am not wasting your time. Well, I mean, anymore than I am with any of the other chapters I've posted. Thanks again to all the people reviewing! It's especially awesome to see familiar screen names letting me know that they're still reading and still liking it. **

* * *

**Day 71**

Lara almost stumbled as she walked back to her and Hesam's roomette from the communal shower of the sleeper car. They had opted for the cheaper option of communal showers and the more cramped personal area. Still, it was a surprisingly relaxing way to travel, if a bit slow.

When she got back to their small space, Hesam was still fast asleep on the bed formed by the seats. Lara stood in the doorway for a moment and relished the moment of peace. That had probably been the most amazing thing about the journey thus far. The simple time they had on their hands had allowed them to plan out their next steps with plenty left over for actual peace and rest.

Lara noticed another passenger heading down the hallway and, sighing, gave up her view of Hesam's slumber. She stepped as lightly as she could on the make shift bed and, balancing precariously, shut the door behind her. She curled up in the fashion that had become second nature to her when engrossed in uncomfortable thoughts. He knees drawn up, her chin resting on them and her arms wrapped securely around her legs.

She found herself staring at Hesam. He was such a good man. Good seemed such a benign description of, well, anything these days and her journalistic training berated for settling on something so pedestrian but it was the word that fit him.

She hadn't been kidding when she told him about her truth telling abilities. Lara had, over her short life, developed a very keen sense of when someone was being dishonest. It could be the tone of voice, or an almost imperceptible tilt to their head. It was like Lara's brain pounced on these and screamed to her, "Lie!" Scream, was the word. Being around dishonesty was, well, loud. It not only made her uncomfortable, it caused her head to ache painfully. That was what was so wonderful about Hesam. He was so honest. It was amazing, but when he said she was beautiful, he wasn't trying to butter her up in hopes of sexual gratification. He meant every word. His voice range true like a bell in a world full of clashing cymbals. When he had said he loved her, that he wanted to marry her and spend the rest of his life with her, she had seen it was true.

It was amazing to have such happiness and peace coexisting with such sadness and fear. Hesam stirred. He reached an arm out and then bolted forward with an inarticulate grunt Lara assumed was meant to be her name.

"Here, Love." Lara said and she grasped his knee.

Hesam sighed and fell back on the thin pillow. He muttered something she didn't catch.

"What?"

"You scared me." He said then, very clearly.

"Well, I can't just lay about waiting for you to wake up." She grinned. "You sleep too much."

"No, Angel. I sleep the proper amount. You sleep too little."

"Speaking of little, we'll be arriving in Little Rock in just under an hour."

Hesam groaned.

"If you're going to get a shower, you need to get up."

Hesam made sobbing noises.

"I'm not kidding. When I was coming back up I passed someone heading down with a towel. There'll be a line if you don't hurry."

No answer.

"Hesam!" Lara said loudly.

"I'm up." Hesam said and, once again, jerked himself into a seated position. "What's going on?"

Lara sighed but with a smile.

"You. Shower. Now." She ruffled his thick black curls. "I love you, but you stink."

Hesam grinned sleepily. "That's my man scent, woman. You know you love my man musk."

Lara rolled her eyes and giggled. "You're ridiculous. I'm going to get breakfast while it's still free."

When Lara returned to the roomette with a croissant for Hesam, he was not only showered and dressed but had converted the bed back into chairs.

A companionable silence reigned as they ate their breakfast but Lara noted an edge of doom creeping upon them both. The respite of the train ride was almost over.

"So." Hesam said at last.

"So." Lara answered.

"When we get to the Little Rock station we take a cab to the bus station and then get tickets to Russellville." Hesam said formally.

"Right." Lara replied. "Though I really doubt that Peter or anyone else who survived that crash with still be there. It's been what? Five days?"

"Yeah, one of the disadvantages of not being able to fly or rent a car."

"We wouldn't even know the others anyway. I mean, the other…what are we going to call them? Special people makes me think of short school buses."

Hesam considered the question. "Um, how about…FFs? Frequent flyers?"

Lara laughed. "Well, Parkman can't fly. He sees the future, remember? Or rather draws the future."

Hesam grinned. "Okay, how about the Crayon Club?"

Lara laughed again but then sighed. "How about members?"

"Hmm. Members. I like it. They're part of a club." Hesam smiled. "Yeah, I like it."

"Okay, now that we've got that settled. The fact of the matter is we could be sitting right next to a member and not know it."

"Yeah, I guess. But, Angel, now don't take this the wrong way but I'm not really trying to save all of them. I mean, I'll help whoever but the person I'm looking for is my partner. My friend, Peter."

Lara smiled sadly. "And we'll be lucky if we can even manage that."

* * *

They arrived shortly in the less than impressive Little Rock train station. Hesam was relieved to see several taxi cabs idling in anticipation of embarking passengers. The driver offered to stow their two small messenger bags in the trunk but they opted to keep them with them and climbed into the back seat.

"Where can I take ya folks?" The driver asked cheerfully.

"The greyhound bus station, please." Hesam answered. He glanced at Lara but then looked more closely. She was staring at the back of the driver's head her features schooled into a severe frown.

"Not a problem." The driver said in response and Lara's frown deepened.

"No." She said suddenly. "Let us out."

"Lara?" Hesam asked, surprised by her behavior.

"He's lying, Hessam. Somethings wrong." Lara hissed then said more loudly. "Sir? Please, stop the car. We've changed our mind."

The driver did not respond and Hesam felt a slight flutter settling down his esophagus to his stomach.

"You heard her. Pull over."

No answer.

"Sir, please, stop the car!" Lara said desperately.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Ms. Sladka." The man said solemnly.

Hesam felt as though he'd been plunged into ice water and clamped down on his jaw as his teeth threatened to shatter. He pulled Lara close to his side, in what he knew to be a futile attempt to protect her.

But Lara was stiff in his embrace. There was a stubborn set to her jaw.

"I think you should reconsider that. I've sent all the information we've gathered on this little witch hunt of yours to a third party with instructions that it should be made public if that person is not contacted by me on a regular basis."

"If you are referring to the e-mail you attempted to send your friend Lindsey Robinson during your lay over in Chicago, it was intercepted. The doors are locked. This is happening. Things will be a lot better for you if you don't fight it." The driver said without emotion.

Lara shrank back into Hesam's arms. He let her pull her legs up to her knees and then wrapped himself around her, their heads resting against each other.

"I love you." Hesam said.

"I love you, too." Lara cried.

"I love you, sex." Hesam said, skipping to the end of a familiar game.

"Don't worry." He said. "Everything's going to be alright."

Lara made a sound that was half laugh and half sob.

"That, my Love." She said shakily. "Is the first time you've ever lied to me."


	18. Day 71: The Right Thing

**Day 71**

"You can't hold us here. You're not police and we're not criminals. You have no right." Hesam admired the steadiness of Lara's angry voice.

"You are aiding and abetting terrorists. That gives me the right."

"Terrorists? They're not terrorists. They're just different and that scares you so you want to lock them up and throw away the key." Hesam cried indignantly.

"They killed my men!" The man screamed.

"Your men were the criminals!" Hesam shouted back.

"What did you say?"

Lara interjected.

"Have you ever read the declaration of Independence? All men are created equal? They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Does ANY of that sound familiar?"

The man turned his glare from Hesam to Lara but she went on.

"You and your men kidnapped these people, citizens of this country, for no other reason than the fact that you didn't like them! You were breaking the laws of this country not them. They had every right to defend themselves."

The man raised his arm and his intention was clear to Hesam. Screaming Hesam threw himself forward before the blow could land. He and Lara's would be assailant tumbled to the ground and both began to scramble up but Hesam's bound hands impeded him.

The man regained his feet while Hesam still struggled on his knees and landed a vicious blow to Hesam's ribs. Lara screamed as Hesam crumpled with a muffled groan.

The man kicked again but this time with more purpose, depositing Hesam flat on his back. He then knelt next to a helpless Hesam and began delivering blow after bloody blow.

"Don't"

_Smack_

"You"

_Smack_

"Ever"

_Smack_

"Talk About"

_Smack_

"My Men"

_Smack_

"Again!"

Lara was held back throughout the beating. She screamed for the pale man to stop in great shuddering sobs. When that seemed to have no effect she pleaded with the other two men in the room.

"Make him stop, please! He's going to kill him. Please!"

No one acknowledged her cries.

The man finally seemed satisfied and climbed to his feet revealing a bloody and eerily still Hesam.

"NO!" Lara screamed. Either she managed to jerk forward with enough force or the grip of the man holding her was lessened by the shock of Hesam's condition. Either way, she was free to run to his prone body and kneel by his side.

She tried to reign in her terror and slow her cries. Her hands still bound behind her back she leaned her head forward and listened for sounds of breathing, for his heart, signs of life. She cried with fresh sobs when she detected the slight rise and fall of his chest and the gentle thudding. When she pulled her head away, it was damp with Hesam's blood.

"Get a doctor! Please! Someone, PLEASE!"

The man simply stood wiping the blood from his hands.

"Help him!" Lara screamed but no one moved, no one answered.

Lara spat at them, disgusted.

"You're the monsters! You're murderers! Shame on you!"

The man regarded Lara with annoyance and once again raised his hand to strike.

Lara felt ashamed but couldn't stop herself from wincing away from the blow; a blow that didn't land. Instead the man's hand smacked into the glove of one of the two uniformed men in the room.

The man looked up, incredulous.

"Sergeant! What in the name of hell do you think you're doing?"

"Sir," The man barked. "I'm fulfilling my sworn duty and protecting a citizen of the United States of America, Sir. From all threats, foreign and domestic."

"You unhand me now Sergeant or you will face a court marshal by the end of the week, my hand to God."

The Sergeant grinned grimly.

"It would be my honor, Sir, to stand before my brothers and sisters in uniform and recount to them that I would not, I _refused_, to stand idly by while a citizen of this country was so ill treated, Sir."

The man stared into the Sergeants eyes for a long moment, his wrist still held firm. The Sergeant released it slowly and deliberately and handed the man his weapon.

"But something tells me, _Sir._" And now the honorific sounded almost mocking. "That you don't want me to do that. Do you, Sir?"

A cold sweat appeared to be breaking out on the man's forehead. "Private Blakely!" He barked suddenly.

"Yes, Sir!" The other uniformed man in the room replied.

"Private! Sergeant Meyers has refused a direct order and is aiding an enemy of the state. Shoot him."

Private Blakely did not move. "Sir?"

The man's voice raised in pitch. "You heard me, Private! He's a traitor! Shoot him!"

Still Blakely did not move.

"Did you hear me, Private?" The man cried.

"Yes, Sir."

"Then follow my orders!"

"No, Sir."

The man was shaking now, either with fear or with rage, it was impossible to tell.

For a very long moment nothing happened and Lara started to think dazedly that they would stay in that tense moment for eternity when the man suddenly moved. He brought the weapon Sergeant Meyers had surrendered around as though to fire it at Private Blakely but the Sergeant interceded.

With the sure movements of impeccable training, Sergeant Meyers grabbed the muzzle of the gun with his right hand and placed the index finger of his left hand behind the trigger. The man squeezed but it did no good. Another second later and he had been relieved of the weapon.

Private Blakely's weapon was now aimed steadfastly on the pale man, who stood for a long moment staring back and forth between his two subordinates. Then Sergeant Meyers raised the butt of his weapon and clubbed the man firmly on the head.

Private Blakely's eyes darted around the room between the man's crumpled form, Lara leaning over Hesam's bloodied body and his Sergeant's grim face.

"Sarge, what did we just do?"

The Sergeant didn't hesitate. "We did the right thing, Soldier. No matter what happens from here on out, you remember that. What we did right here, was the right thing."

The young private looked into his Sergeants eyes and felt himself steady.

"Aye, aye Sergeant."

* * *

This is officially going to be the last chapter with a day title. Hesam and Lara, by the way, have not been liberated. They've still got a bit of trouble ahead of them. However, they will be reunited with Peter in the next chapter, so, Yay! I get to write Peter again. :-)


	19. The Cell

_**Some might say they don't believe in Heaven,**_

_**Go and tell it to the man who lives in Hell.-- Oasis**_

Lara had no idea how long she had been held in the dark facility. She often thought back to the long peaceful journey on the train with Hesam. It kept her from going insane.

Lara learned the name of Hesam's attacker, James. It was fitting that his last name was also a first name, considering no one ever called him by his first name. She also learned to hate; something, she realized, she'd never actually done before. She'd never really, truly hated someone before.

Shortly after the altercation, the two men had attempted to convince her to make a break for it but she couldn't leave Hesam and they all knew she couldn't take him with her. In the end, the Sergeant had stayed with her, Hesam and the unconscious James while Private Blakely turned himself in and informed his superiors of what had happened. Sergeant Meyers hoped that he would indeed face a court martial and be given the opportunity to bring the activities of men like James into the open.

Lara had silently and ineffectually petted Hesam's blood soaked curls and said nothing. She held no hope for the Sergeant, or for Hesam, or herself. She found that she was secretly hoping the men who she heard running down the hall would come in shooting. Hesam looked to her untrained eye to be on the edge of death, his breathing causing sucking, choking noises.

But the men didn't shoot. They took Sergeant Meyers into custody and removed the unconscious James. They had then stood guard over her and Hesam until a stretcher was brought and Hesam placed on it. Lara seemed to apathetically view a scene from a film in which she lost all control. Screaming and sobbing incoherently this other Lara fought with almost super human strength as they took Hesam away, even while the Lara inside wondered what the point was. He was going to die. What did anything matter if Hesam was gone?

She felt the needle prick and the long, seemingly endless fall that melted into oblivion. She awoke to restraints and more needles and men in white coats.

Fat men, bald men, skinny men, ugly men. There were women, too. But they were few and far between. She found herself wondering one day if it was because women found the work distasteful.

They told her that her test results had come up positive. The used words like hyper awareness. They explained that the reason she could tell when people were lying, the reason she could pick any lock, the reason she had such good balance, it was all because she was different.

She wasn't human. They said.

She wasn't one of them.

She was one of the others.

She didn't care.

She also didn't eat and that seemed to make them angry, which made her laugh, which _really_ made them angry.

The would force the tube up her nostrils and down her throat and she would cry for Peter and cry for Hesam but she mostly cried for herself. Because she had been happy and in love and they had taken her love away. He was dead and they wouldn't, they _refused_ to let her join him.

Lara sat in her cell with her chin on her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs and tried to imagine strong arms around her; strong arms and a musky man smell.

She would cry but she wouldn't speak. She hadn't spoken in so long, she honestly wondered if she could anymore.

Then there was screaming and shouts and shots. Her cell door opened and a man in an orange suit like hers was yelling at her. She hid her face in her legs, willing him to go away.

Arms grabbed her and she screamed and fought. Then there was a flash of pain and the nothing she had ceaselessly craved.


	20. The New Day

"Lara." A voice was calling her name, her _first_ name. The voice sounded familiar but she was afraid. She decided to feign sleep.

She felt someone shake her gently. "Lara." The same voice and, yes, it was familiar. But it wasn't Hesam. So, it didn't matter.

"Did you have to hit her?"

"No. I could have left her." That voice was unfamiliar.

A sigh.

"She looks like death. What did they do to her in there?"

There was a pause then, the rustling of papers and the unfamiliar voice again.

"It says her ability is hyper awareness. So, she's like a walking polygraph and good at manipulating delicate things, balance, stuff like that. Don't see why they'd give her a hard time over _that_."

"Lara has an ability?" The incredulous and yet happy surprise in the voice made a connection in Lara's mind. She knew who the familiar voice was.

"Peter?" She asked the name in a voice husky and broken from its long silence.

"Lara!"

She cracked her eyelids open experimentally. The world was blurred but full of color; something that had been missing in the prison of grey walls, black uniforms and white lab coats.

Her eyes came into focus and she could clearly see Peter's crooked smile.

"Hey, there." He said gently. "You got a bump on your head and probably a pretty bad concussion. You'll probably be feeling a bit dizzy or nauseated. If you feel like you need to throw up let me know, okay?" He chuckled. "I've got you a bucket."

The smile. The easy banter made her shudder with pain. It reminded her of so many times the three of them had spent together of…

"Hesam." She wailed and began to cry. Peter held her and hushed her and tried to calm her but it was no use. All the pain and misery of the countless nights alone without her Love broke free and ran their course. After a while, Peter stopped cooing and hushing and just held her and let her cry.

When the sobs finally stopped, Peter pulled away the hair that had plastered itself on her damp face.

"Lara, I can't imagine what you've been through, but it's going to be okay."

The words made her feel the pain all over again. Nothing would ever be okay again.

"Peter," She whispered. "Please let me go somewhere alone. I can't…I …don't want to do this anymore. I want to be with Hesam."

Peter chuckled. "You need to make up your mind. Do you want to be alone or do you want to go see Hesam?"

That didn't make any sense.

"What?"

"You want to see Hesam, right? I figured you'd want to see him as soon as you woke up. He's dying to see you but Brent, the closest thing we've got to a doctor by the way, wouldn't let him off his stretcher. He's still in pretty bad shape."

Lara grabbed Peter in a sudden vice like grip.

"Peter. I'm very tired and confused and I just need you to answer something for me. I need you to be very clear. Okay?"

Peter frowned in her grasp but nodded his head. "Okay." He said, all mirth gone.

"Is Hesam alive?"

Peter smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, of course he is."

Lara started crying again but the sounds were infinitely different from the sobs of before.

She clutched Peter in a stifling embrace, laughing out an immeasurable relief.

"Where is he?" She finally cried. "I have to see him, please."

Peter sobered a bit.

"Okay, he's this way but I gotta tell you something on the way."

"Fine, tell me whatever you want." Lara said with a blissful smile, unabashedly wiping her nose on her orange jumpsuit sleeve.

"Hesam had an accident, Lara. A bad one. We're not sure when, it looks like a while ago but…"

"Oh, I know about that." Lara interrupted. "I was there."

Peter's stride stopped suddenly.

"You were there." He said incredulously.

"Yes." Lara said impatiently. "Come on. Less talking more walking."

"Wait, when was this? What happened?"

"It was when they first brought us to that place. James did it. I thought he'd killed him. I mean, until just a minute ago I thought he was dead. But he's not and you are still not moving, Peter."

Peter seemed to shake himself and started walking again.

"Why?" He said after a few more steps.

Lara sighed. "Hesam said that if someone with abilities had killed his men it was in self-defense and that his men were murderers." She suppressed a shudder. "This is probably my least favorite thing to think about Peter."

"Sorry." Peter said. "It's just, I've been trying to figure out how he got his injury. He has an indirect orbital floor fracture."

Lara frowned at him.

"His eye socket broke. That takes a lot of force. I thought he must have hit his head on a dashboard in an accident or something. He said he couldn't remember how he got it or exactly how he had ended up in the facility. He said one minute he was with you on a train looking for me, thank you by the way, and the next he was in a cell. He's been worried sick about you."  
At this point they had finally reached an end to the longest hallway Lara'd ever walked in her life. The room looked as though it had once been a large break room or a small cafeteria. The floors were tiled and there were sinks. She could see the slight indentations where table legs had once stood. The slight scuff marks of chairs pulled in and out hundreds of times. She now knew that such observations were not normal. That she was different and she was starting to figure out that she was okay with that.

Now, of course, the floor was covered with low cots, which were full of injured people. A man with a white coat approached her and, to her shame, she involuntarily shrank away from his outstretched hand, shuddering.

The man instantly pulled his hand back and hid it behind his back in a gesture so juvenile and innocent, it went a long way to unspooling the suddenly tight coils surrounding her chest.

"Um, sorry. I keep forgetting what you all have been through." He said and his kind face contracted in a minute fashion that, to Lara, conveyed dark thoughts.

"Where is Hesam?" Lara asked, not wanting to wait another second more than was necessary.

The man, Brent apparently, smiled. "He's over here. I'm afraid he might look a fright…"

"She knows." Peter interrupted and the man looked a question. "She was there. It was a beating."

Brent stopped short at that and Lara grunted out loud in frustration.

"I'll find him myself." She said angrily and brushed the man aside.

He scrambled to catch up to her but he needn't have bothered. Despite the large bandage covering half of his face, Lara knew Hesam instantly. She tried to run to him but found her legs didn't seem to work properly. She realized fleetingly that she hadn't actually run or even walked freely in a very long time.

She quite literally collapsed on the floor next to his cot and, suddenly hesitant, took his hand.

"Hesam?" She asked, incredulous that her body still retained the ability to produce fresh tears.

"Angel!" Hesam sighed blissfully. "Oh, I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too." She said happily.

* * *

So, they're finally free again...well, as free as fugitives can be. Adding something here: Should I keep going. They're back together. They found Peter. I could stop here. However, I also have a lot of fodder in my brain for continuing the story. This is officially the longest fic I've ever done, so I'm thinking it might be tired by now. Please review or PM me with your opinion as to whether I should put a period on this fic or keep going.

Thanks.


	21. The Bottle

**Okay, so two people said keep going and no one said stop. Also, it occurred to me that if anyone wants to stop, well, nothing is stopping them, so...**

**Here is another chapter to the story with a few actually familiar faces. BTW, (SPOILER!) since this is officialy my own universe now, in MY univers Daphne didn't die. :)**

* * *

Peter walked into the make shift infirmary and couldn't help but smile. Lara appeared to have fallen asleep sitting on the floor with her head resting on Hesam's chest.

"Peter" Brent called. "I'm glad you're here there's something going on with the blood work I'm getting back. I need to talk to you about it."

Peter sighed. "In a minute, okay, Brent. I'm gonna take Lara back to her bed."

Brent frowned.

"I'll come right back. I promise. It'll take five minutes. You can't wait five minutes? Look at her. She's gonna get sick kneeling on that cold floor."

Brent sighed heavily. "Alright five minutes. But I'm serious. I need to talk to you about this."

Peter smiled and tip toed his way through the sleeping figures.

He lifted Lara easily; there _were_ perks to having managed to get his ability back under control. Though, he didn't imagine it would really take super human strength to handle Lara now. To say that she was thin was a disservice to the word. She was emaciated, pale, with dark hollows in her cheeks and under her eyes. Her bones were sharp and visible and seemed to be trying to break through her painfully tight skin.

"Peter."

Peter looked down and saw that Hesam was regarding him with his unbandaged eye.

"It's okay, Hesam. I'm just taking her somewhere she can lay down."

Hesam nodded. "Good. I need to talk to you when you get a minute."

Peter frowned thoughtfully. "I've got to talk to Brent anyway. I'll be back. No worries."

Hesam sighed and closed his eyes…er…eye. Peter turned away, his face hot with shame. What had he done?

* * *

"I think what they've done is created some kind of dependence. It's like a back up plan."

Peter shook his head, a bit frustrated.

"Brent, I haven't slept since the night before the raid. Could you please slow down and explain everything. Don't skip to the end, okay?"

"I'm sorry. It's just, if I'm right, we don't have a lot of time."

"Time for what?" Peter said harshly, thoroughly exasperated. "What are you talking about Brent?"

"I think those people have been dosing the prisoners with something. They're all showing signs of withdrawal. I think they did it on purpose so if someone escaped, well, they wouldn't get far."

Peter finally grasped what the man was saying.

"You're saying they poisoned them?"

"Kind of, yeah." Brent nodded, apparently relieved that he was making himself understood.

"They've all been fed a steady diet of some kind of drug, I think. So, if they escaped, they wouldn't get far before going into withdrawal. That would make it much easier for them to the recaptured."

Peter grunted. "So, you're telling me everyone we just saved is about to have a very bad day."

"Probably, yes."

"I don't get it. Why didn't anyone mention the fact that they were sent loopy everyday?"  
Brent frowned, "Well, the drugs wouldn't have to induce euphoria or hallucinations. The thing is, what I'm finding is an overall depression of the central nervous system."

"You mean, like with alcohol addiction?" Peter felt sick.

"Exactly! I almost forgot you had a medical background." Brent sighed.

"What are we looking at here in terms of side effects?"

"I'm not sure what they gave the prisoners but I know that what I'm looking at is an overall desensitization and reduction in GABA A receptors. If we don't do something they'll start suffering from uncontrolled synapse firing. That'll mean.."

"Seizures, delirium, hallucinations…" Peter finished for him.

"Not just seizures, life threatening seizures. Peter, if we don't do something all these people we just saved? They're going to die."

* * *

"You're not hearing me, Brent. We don't have access. I can't even think of where to get my hands on the amounts of glutamic acid we would need to treat the number of people affected and you can bet that any place anywhere near that facility with the required amounts of glutamic acid would be regarded as prime real estate in trap land."

Peter was pacing in the room they had designated the "war room". It was relatively large and able to contain the large conference table.

"What about NMDA?" Brent tried again desperately.

"What's NMDA?" Matt Parkman directed the question to Brent but it was Peter who answered.

"It's N-methyl-D-aspartic acid. And it's equally impossible to order up on the telephone." Peter growled.

"Peter, Brent's just trying to help. This isn't his fault so stop growling at him." Daphne said with an indignant tilt to her chin.

Peter shot Brent an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Brent. I'm just worried."

Brent nodded. "You have a couple of friends in this group, I get it."

"Well, it's not like none of us are invested in this just because we don't personally know these people." Matt said then. "There are three kids in this group. I wanna save them just as much as anyone."

"What about your paintings, Matt?" Daphne said then. "Do you see us going on a raid? Anything like that?"

Matt frowned. "I drew a lot about the rescue. The only thing I drew after was Peter."

Matt paused, obviously uncomfortable.

"What did you draw, Matt?"

Matt didn't answer.

"Parkman?" Peter's voice was low but insistent.

Matt took out a picture and everyone shifted in their seats to get a good view as he affixed it to the cork board the group had taken to calling the storyboard.

Most quickly looked down, shaken by the implications.

The picture was a rough sketch done in charcoal. It showed Peter sitting on the floor in the outer hallway. He was holding the distinctively rectangular shape of a Jack Daniels bottle his face contorted with emotion.

"I'm sorry, Peter." Matt said softly and sat back down.

Everyone maintained an uncomfortable silence, not knowing what to say. Then the silence was broken by the most unexpected sound: Peter laughing.

* * *

"You want us to get drunk?" Lara asked incredulously.

"Yes." Peter smirked. "We may not have glutamic acide or NMDA but alcohol," He held up a box of liquor bottles. "Alcohol is readily available at the local supermarket."

Lara still looked confused so Hesam decided to help fill in the blanks.

"Alcohol increases the stimulation of GABA A receptors. It depresses the central nervous system the same way our mystery drug does. If we drink alcohol in ever diminishing amounts over the next few weeks, our systems should have enough time for to bounce back."

Lara looked from Peter to Hesam to Brent and then back to Hesam.

"I can't believe it but, apparently, my editor was right." She said, and then downed the proffered shot of tequila. "Alcohol really does solve all our problems."

* * *

Lara had barely managed to gulp down her doses of liquor before falling asleep. Her body mass being so low made her an extremely cheap drunk. Hesam, however, had taken his medicine with wits to spare.

"You owe me a talk, Petrelli." Hesam said a little jovially.

Peter sighed. "Yeah, I think I know what it's about."

To his surprise Hesam laughed.

"Let me guess? You're sorry? Um, this is all your fault. You should have been faster. You should have been stronger or better looking or a dick."

Peter frowned at Hesam's dismissive manner.

"It _is_ my fault, Hesam. If it weren't for me, what you and Lara have been through." He shuddered. "It wouldn't have happened."

Hesam snorted.  
"Shit, Peter, Lara and I wouldn't have happened. You forgetting that?"

Peter stared, for a moment shocked out of his self loathing.

"I mean, sheesh, man. Where do you get off? I know you wanna make everything your fault but it's kinda arrogant, don't you think?"

Peter couldn't help but smile at that.

"Lara, she's got one of those super thingies too so it stands to reason eventually someone was gonna come for her."

Hesam leaned forward and grabbed Peter's shoulder. "Peter, look into my eye. Look deep into my eye. Not everything that goes wrong in this world is your fault, you silver spoon sucking lunatic."

Peter pulled away. "That's not funny, Hesam. You shouldn't joke about it."

Hesam sobered as much as the alcohol in his system would allow him.

"Peter, if all I have to give up is my right eye to be here with Lara, to be loved by her and able to protect her from these monsters, it's a small price. Believe me. You believe me, right?"

Peter didn't answer for a long time and Hesam let him be still.

"You," Peter started, then ducking his head, he licked his lips and tried again. "You're really okay?"

"Yeah, Peter. I'm fine. Thanks to you."

Grateful tears filled Peter's eyes.  
Hesam smiled back and then gave Peter a half hearted shove.

"Now get out of here and let me sleep off my medicine." He said gruffly.

Peter grabbed the half empty bottle of Jack Daniels and stepped out of the infirmary.

Out in the hallway, he indulged in a sip and, fulfilling Matt's prophetic sketch, sank to the floor, his limbs suddenly water logged. Then he found himself laughing in utter and complete relief.


	22. The Rest of the Story

**This is a ridiculously long chapter. I've written entire stories shorter than this chapter. This story is my longest...ever. Thanks so much for reading and Happy Valentine's Day!**

**

* * *

**

Lara seemed to be floating down the long gray hall. "I'm dreaming." She thought to herself and she was comforted. As she passed the cell doors she knew, in the way you _know_ things in dreams, that the cells were empty.

The whole place seemed empty. It felt hollow. Then she heard a scream. A thrill of fear ran through her but she reminded herself, it was just a dream. Nothing could hurt her in a dream. She wasn't really there.

Still she found herself following the sound; curious. Who was screaming?

Her disembodied perspective seemed to surge forward and she suddenly found herself in a small cramped room.

This time it wasn't a small shiver of fear. She felt it permeate her. Hesam was on the ground. She saw herself being held fast. James was kicking and punching Hesam's defenseless and senseless body.

"No!" The voice was screaming; her voice. "Stop! Stop! You're KILLING HIM!!!"

She couldn't move. She had no body.

She heard the sickening crunching thudding noises again and screamed just to drown them out; though she knew it would do no good.

"Please! Please! STOP!!!"

"Lara." A gentle voice broke through, offering her escape and she fled the nightmare with relief.

She opened her wet eyes to a blurred, but familiar face.

"Oh, Peter." She clasped the hand that was shaking her. She wanted to tell him the terrible things she had seen. She wanted him to tell her it was okay; that it was over but all she could do was wail his name and cry. Still, he seemed to understand everything she wasn't saying.

After what felt like a very long time but was actually less than five minutes, Lara pulled away from Peter's damp shoulder and smiled shakily.

"I'm sorry for falling to pieces like that." She said.

Peter grinned sadly in his odd lopsided way. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault."

Lara noted that Peter was very pale and had a thin sheen of cold sweat.

"Peter." She called, her voice heavy with concern. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Peter chuckled. "Just realizing that my Mom can be right sometimes."

Lara shook her head, confused. "What?"

"She always said not to eavesdrop and to be careful what you wish for." Peter sighed. "I saw you dreaming and I wasn't sure if I should wake you, so I, I took a peek into your dream." Peter gulped and seemed to not know how to go on. Maybe he was waiting for a protest from Lara. When it didn't come he went on.

"I've been very curious. I know it's macabre almost but I've wondered what it was like for you, for Hesam, for all these others." Peter frowned slightly. "But you especially, I think. You were the first person with abilities they got a chance to really sink their teeth into. Did you know that you and Hesam were the first two prisoners held in that facility?"

Lara shook her head no.

Peter went on, staring fixedly at the wall across the room.

"It was supposed to be us. The people on the plane, but the plane went down. Those of us they captured after the crash, well, they were still gathering them together; holding them in a temporary facility in Arkansas."

Peter chuckled. "It makes sense somehow, in a twisted way, that they'd make their deepest, darkest prison in Odessa, Texas." He shook his head. "I really hate that place. It's like my own personal Bermuda triangle."

"Anyway, you and Hesam came looking for me and they brought you here instead. It's like you took my place." Peter finally stopped looking at the wall and turned to Lara.

Lara was smiling. "It's nice to know in this upside down world, Peter Petrelli hasn't changed. Still carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders." Lara chuckled and sat up on her cot, pulling up her knees to her chin. "You and my parents would have gotten along so well." She said as she rested her head on them sleepily.

Peter smiled. "Now you sound like Hesam."

"Why, Peter." Lara smiled. "What a nice compliment."

Peter laughed. "Yeah, it is isn't it?"

Lara smiled, feeling very happy that she had seemed to pull Peter back out of his melancholy.

"So, you can hear people's dreams too?"

The smile slipped away from Peter's face and Lara wished she could take back the words.

"My ability," Peter said slowly, "It's complicated. It…I can do what other people can do."

Lara raised her eyebrows. "So? You can do what I do?"

Peter smiled. "Kind of. Your ability is different from most. It's actually a lot more like flying. I know that sounds weird but you don't just fly, it takes practice, control to do it right. Your ability…you noticing things, so many things, it's overwhelming. I can't make sense of it so I just have to block it out entirely."

"Why doesn't it bother me?"

Peter shrugged. "Probably because you've done it so long. It might have come on gradually so you got to wade into it. When I get an ability it's like I'm cannon balling into the deep end of the pool. Some are relatively easy to control, others are more like flying, more complicated."

"But eavesdropping on dreams isn't like flying." Lara said.

"It's not just dreams, I can heard people's thoughts. It takes some concentration and, definitely some getting used to but I've had it for a while and I'm pretty good at it." He smiled. "Though no where near as good as Matt."

"Matt Parkman?" Lara frowned. "I thought he had visions."

"You know about that?" Peter said, surprised.

Lara laughed. "It saved us, actually. We went to his apartment, looking for something that would help us find you and…we found these pictures. We were just looking around and then Hesam spotted one of us. It showed us hiding down the street watching men pile out of a van and into the building. So, we ran."

Lara shrugged.

"It happened just like the picture said it would." Lara frowned then. "Wait, can you do THAT too?"

Peter smiled. "Yeah, my eyes go all white and I go into this trance like thing. It's actually kind of cool."

Lara ducked her head behind her knees and laughed.

"This is so weird." She said, then sighed. "So, Peter, what happened?"

"What do you mean?" He said.

"What do I mean?" Lara sounded exasperated. "We spend days looking for the boy and months wondering what happened to him and he asks 'What do I mean?' Peter. What happened to you? After the crash?"

Peter looked abashed .

"It's a long story." He said.

"I have no pressing engagements." Lara smiled.

"You do have an engagement though, don't you? Congratulations, by the way." Now he smirked. "I told you, you would owe me."

Lara smiled. "I really do. No more stalling, though. Fill me in."

Peter sighed. "Okay, but let's do it over coffee."

Lara perked up. "Coffee? Where?"

Peter smiled and shook his head. "I see I'm not the only one who hasn't changed. Follow me." He said in mock exasperated tones.

* * *

"I guess I should have known Nathan wouldn't really come alone. Truth is? I'm kind of glad. I was so angry then." Peter paused and munched on his bagel.

"Well, brothers have a special way of getting under your skin, even when they're not trying to lock you up and throw away the key."

"Yeah, I guess." Peter sighed. "Part of it was, I always looked up to Nathan. Even now, I can't hate him. Believe me I tried. I can't stay angry at him, even though he's so wrong, he at least _thinks_ he's doing the right thing. I mean, he's wrong but his hearts not. He's doing wrong for the right reasons."

Lara smiled.

"What?" Peter asked.

"Just you. You and my parents really _would_ have hit it off. They were always seeing the good in people, situations."

"I'm sorry." Peter said suddenly.

"Sorry for what?"

"I didn't mean to, but the memory of their death flashed into your head so suddenly. It was like this big neon sign flashing in my face. I wasn't trying to read it, it just happened."

"It's okay." Lara said with a small smile. "It happened a long time ago."

"That doesn't make it hurt any less." Peter said and Lara thought of his father.

"No, not really. But it does get easier." She snapped her fingers impatiently. "Enough with the stalling. So, Nathan double crosses you and Tracy and you fly away. What happened next?"

"I hooked up with Matt and Mohinder and Hiro and Ando."

"And this is while Matt was still thinking Daphne was dead." Lara said needlessly but Peter saw the haunted expression and knew that Lara had a special appreciation of Matt's pain he would never be able to match, for all his empathic tendencies.

"Yeah, basically, the thought on everyone's mind was what do we do now? Where do we go? How do we avoid being recaptured or killed? Some of us just wanted to find a safe place, others wanted to fight but none of us knew how to do either."

Lara nodded.

"Well, we knew we couldn't just stay put and so first priority became finding a place we could be safe long enough to answer those questions."

"We didn't really like the idea but we stole a couple of cars." Peter winced subtly. "I took the precaution of only taking cars that had triple A stickers. I figured they'd be the most likely to have good insurance."

Lara laughed and Peter frowned a question at her. "What's so funny about that?"

"Nothing, it's just so very you to be worried about random people when you're running for your life is all."

Peter sighed. "I really get tired of this high opinion everyone seems to have of me. It can be…overwhelming at times." He paused. "You know, Nathan once told me something like, people are defined by other people's expectations of them. That all we really are is what people want us to be. He said that he didn't know if he would still be 'him' without me. Sometimes I think that maybe the reason Nathan has made so many mistakes is because I stopped believing in him."

Lara snorted. "Okay, see, that's part of you I could do without. Peter, I know this seems to be something you cannot get through that thick skull of yours but I'm going to say it again." She reached over and grabbed either side of his head with her hands and made each word a separate sentence.

"It. Is. Not. Your. Fault."

Peter smiled.

"Sorry. I guess I do tend to do that. Hesam said it was arrogant."

"Well, Hesam's got a point. He usually does."

"Ugh. I don't need to hear about your sex life, Lara." Peter said with a lopsided grin.

"Oh, EW, Peter." Lara blushed and pushed him so hard he almost fell out of his chair. "I swear, men never completely recover from adolescence."

But the light hearted laughter felt good.

"Okay, okay…back to the story. We started driving and realized pretty quickly that the bad guys had anticipated that move. Luckily, Parkman heard them a ways off. He and I worked together and managed to mess with the heads of the guys at the road block and they let us through."

Lara smiled and waved her hand theatrically.

"These aren't the droids you're looking for?" She said with a giggle.

"Yeah, something like that. Thing is, we didn't know where to go. I've only ever lived in New York but since that was where we'd been captured we didn't think it was such a good idea to head back that way. Matt used to live in L.A. though and knew it pretty well. Honestly? I think we just went there because it was a place on a map. We were still all so unorganized and divided."

Lara frowned sympathetically.

"We never made it to L.A. though. We were driving through the deserts of New Mexico and it was just so empty. It seemed like the end of the world and, at the time, that seemed like a pretty great place to be. So, we left the road and just drove off into the mountains. It's not as hot up here. We found this old abandoned mining facility." Peter smiled. "Well, we had a little help from Matt's premonitions."

"Anyway, it was perfect. The mine was so far away from everything and it was designed to house people, so we had the dorms. It's off the grid, no one noticed when we started up the generators and turned the lights on. I mean, the fact that it's designed to run off of generators is just incredible."

Peter sat back with a sigh.

"Finding this place was more than just good luck, it was like an affirmation. It was…I don't even know how to describe it."

"Like maybe the entire universe wasn't against you?" Lara offered and Peter smiled.

"Yeah, I guess. Like maybe good things could still happen."

He took a long drink from his now cool coffee cup.

"Anyway, we spent some good time cleaning up and getting things sorted. It was good to be alone and busy but, you know, able to think. Then we all met together and sorted out what we wanted to do next. We were all pretty shaken up by what had happened to us. We decided that our top priority needed to be finding all the others. The people who had been captured after the crash and anyone else Nathan and his cronies had laid their hands on."

Lara got up and poured herself and Peter some more coffee.

"Thanks. We started trying to find out what we could. Matt got in touch with this girl he met a long time ago, Hannah. Hannah's ability is…really complicated."

Lara frowned curiously and Peter smiled.

"_Really _complicated. I'll have to go through that later. Suffice it to say, she's really good with computers. She can't break through every firewall but she found out enough. She learned about a few raids that were planned to grab a few people."

Peter frowned darkly.

"One of them was Micah, he's just a kid. That got everyone fired up and put a lid on any thoughts anyone had about lying low a little longer. We found out what we could and put together a plan to save him."

Peter shrugged.

"That's pretty much what we've been doing ever since."

Lara frowned thoughtfully. "Why did it take Hannah so long to figure out where the big, I don't know, prison or facility or whatever it was they called the place they stuck us was?"

Peter ducked his head. "Um, it only took us three months to find it actually." And he sipped his coffee.

"Then…" Lara stopped and breathed deeply. "Why did you…Why didn't you come and get us out?"

She wished she didn't sound so hurt but she couldn't seem to keep it out of her voice.

"We weren't ready to take on such a big assault at that time." Peter said sadly. "We started pulling people before they could be captured and the bad guys noticed. It got harder to find the information, and the bad guys were faster and better equipped."

Then he smiled. "On the plus side, everyone we rescued had something to contribute." Peter fingered the little bouquet of flowers on the table. "Alice, she can change the properties of soil. Did you know that loam is a type of soil?" Peter shook his head smiling. "Because of her we were able to make ourselves a very successful garden. We can grow just about anything out there but Alice, she went a bit farther. She's turned this little mountain valley into a veritable Shangri La. Well, with some help from Fred."

"Fred?" Lara asked.

"Yeah, Fred has this weird power over water. You ever heard of water witches?"

Lara shook her head no.

"It's been a known phenomenon for decades, maybe even centuries. People who could walk across a field and just know whether or not there was an underground water source that could be tapped by a well. Fred said that his grandfather was known for being an especially good water witch and could not only tell you if there was water but how deep you'd have to dig to tap it."

Peter shook his head. "Fred, though…Fred can actually sort of dive into the ground with his mind and find water. Then he brings it back up to the surface. I've done it too and it's the most amazing experience."

Lara smiled. "It sounds cool."

"Yeah, well, all of this.." And Peter gestured around the room. "It took time and, frankly, we weren't ready. We needed to build up our strength before taking on a place like that."

"But you did." Lara said.

"Yeah, we did."

There was a long companionable silence then Peter cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Lara?"

"Hmm?"

"I know."

Lara almost asked what he knew but didn't. She knew what he was talking about.

"I didn't manage it." She said at last.

"Not for lack of trying." Peter said then.

"It was Hesam." She said. "I thought he was dead. I didn't want to live without him."

Peter sighed painfully.

"I understand that. But, Lara, this is…this situation is dangerous. No one is safe. I guess I'm just worried about what will happen to you if something happens to him."

Lara thought about that for a while.

"Have you told him?"

"No."

"I think that's a good thing." She said softly.

"You think that because you know what he would think if he knew. You know that, even if something had happened to him, he wouldn't have wanted that for you. He'd want you to live, Lara. You know that."

Tears slipped down Lara's cheeks silently and she nodded.

"I keep thinking about, you know, 'what if?'" She sighed and wiped at her face with a paper tissue. "What if I'd managed it and Hesam was alive. I'm so ashamed of myself."

"No, no." Peter said then. "I get it. I'm not judging you, Lara. It was a pretty hopeless situation but, you never know, is all. Sometimes things seem absolutely irredeemable but you never know when the winds about to change."

Lara smiled. "Yeah. I know that now. I never thought I'd be grateful to those bastards for anything but…I'm happy to be alive."

Peter smiled. "I'm glad."

They suddenly noticed that while they had been speaking the room had started to fill with others early risers.

"Oh, wow." Lara said, surprised. "I need to go see Hesam."

"I'll join you." Peter said.

"Don't you need to do something to get ready for that big gathering or meeting or whatever it is that we're doing this afternoon."

"Nah," Peter said dismissively. "Matt's taking care of that. I'm just there for show and tell."

"What?"

Peter grinned. "You'll see."

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**Reviews welcomed like long lost unexpected chocolate.**


	23. Final Chapter: The Choice

**Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is time to say good-bye. This is the last chapter of Partners. I hope that you have enjoyed the story and that you are satisfied by the ending. Thanks so much for all of your support and I will now shamelessly ask for reviews. I'm really very interested in what you think of the story as a whole and especially what you think of the ending. Thanks, thanks, thanks and thanks one more time for all the reviews and support you've already given.

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Lara sat down next to Hesam in the back row of folding chairs as Matt Parkman, who she still hadn't met, started to bring the meeting to order. "What kept you?" Hesam asked quietly. Lara blushed self consciously and held up the cup of coffee. Hesam sighed heavily and shook his head but he was smiling and put his arm around her shoulders.

"My little addict." He whispered.

"Okay, everyone. Let's settled down. We've got a lot to go over today." Matt called out over the comfortable murmuring sound of the crowd, which gradually quieted down to silence.

"Alright, now trust me, the fact that this next bit is going to bring an alcoholics anonymous meeting to mind…Let's just say given the fact that we've been feeding you guys alcohol for the past few weeks, the irony is not lost on us."

There were chuckles from the crowd and Matt smiled companionably. Hesam was envious of the ease with which the man stood before them. Hesam always found himself out of place in such situations and used humor to try to release tension. He noticed that Peter was up on the slightly raised platform. He stood behind Matt and about six feet to his left with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes scanning the crowd. Almost like a bodyguard or secret service agent.

"What we'd like to do is go around the room." Matt's voice rang out, interrupting Hesam's thoughts. "We'll all introduce ourselves, tell our ability and a little bit about ourselves."

"Yeah, like who are you people?" A male voice called out from the crowd.

Matt pointed in his direction and said, "Exactly. Who are we? Who are you? I'll get the ball rolling."

Matt cleared his throat. "I'm Matt Parkman."

"Hi, Matt." Several people in the crowd, including Hesam and Lara chorused back in the manner typical to AA meetings. Matt dropped his head and chuckled; nodding.

"Yeah, yeah." He said, "I'm originally from Los Angeles and before all this craziness started I was a cop. My ability is…"

"Eating donuts?" The same male voice that had spoken earlier called out, interrupting Matt.

Hesam heard Lara make an indignant noise and he grabbed her arm as she tried to stand up. Lara could have a temper and despised mocking behavior.

But Matt just laughed and then looked at the man with an interesting expression. Suddenly the man stood up and was dancing about screaming. Then, just as suddenly, he stopped and looked around himself in a confused fashion.

"If you'll take your seat I'll try again." Matt said amiably and the man sat down shakily.

"Okay," Matt began with the companionable smile back on his face. "As I was saying, I'm Matt Parkman." This time there was not response from the crowd other than utter and complete attention. "My ability is mental. I can read minds…"

A low murmur emanated from the crowd as people audibly reacted to that fact.

"…I can also manipulate perception. I can make you think you are on fire, for example." Matt looked pointedly at the heckler. "I also occasionally go into a trance like state and draw pictures of future events. Sometimes these are things in my immediate future. Sometimes they are things that are going to happen to people I've never met. Sometimes they are things that may happen in the distant future." Matt shrugged almost apologetically. "I don't control what I draw, I just try to learn from it."

Many people in the audience were nodding their heads at that. Able to sympathize with a man whose ability often seemed beyond his control.

"Okay." Matt clapped his hands together. "Who's next?" He looked out at the crowd.

"How about we start on the first row, just work our way down the line."

Hesam heard Lara sigh in relief. "Whoever heard of a reporter with stage fright?" He whispered and delivered a gentle nudge with his elbow.

"I'm a journalist. I write. I don't do public speaking." Lara whispered back indignantly.

Hesam squeezed her shoulders gently and suddenly realized the woman was finished and that he'd missed her entire introduction.

"Hi, I'm Jessie Merrick."

"Hi, Jessie." The crowd echoed back.

The boy, for that's what he was, rubbed his left arm nervously. "I'm 19, from Medford…um…that's in Oregon. I…my ability is um…it's kind of hard to describe." He seemed to be struggling with the attention but also to put his ability into words.

Matt had moved a bit closer and smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry. We've got a lot of experience with odd abilities. If you want, you can just demonstrate."

Jessie smiled with relief. "Um, does someone here speak another language?"

Hesam, like everyone else in the room, looked around but no one raised their hands. Lara nudged him. "What?" He said.

"Don't you speak Arabic or Farsi or something?"

"Oh, nice." Hesam said indignantly. "No, I don't. My parents were very much into full integration."

"Damn it." Lara sighed and then stood up.

Matt noticed immediately and she saw the almost imperceptible signs of relief.

"Alright!" He said happily and Jessie turned around. The signs of relief in his reaction were visible to everyone. "What's your name?" Matt asked her and then added. "And would you mind coming up here?"

Lara did a funny little dance as she stepped forward and then back again. Wondering if she should introduce herself and then walk forward or walk forward and then introduce herself.

Matt smiled at her and gestured forward. "It's okay. We don't bite." Then he turned dramatically to Jessie and asked, "Do we?" Everyone laughed, including Jessie as he shook his head no.

By the time Lara got to the front of the room her heart felt as though it might leap from her chest.

"Hi." Matt's smile was amazingly reassuring. "What's your name?"

"Lara." That came out alright.

"Okay, what language do you speak?"

"Um, Slovak." Lara answered.

Jessie held out his hand timidly and Lara shook it. "Hi." She said nervously.

Jessie answered, "Ahoj."

Lara stared. "You speak Slovak?"

"Hovorite po Slovensky?"

Lara frowned. "If I say something in English, you can say it in Slovak?"

Jessie smiled and said, "Ak povedam nieco po Anglisky, mozes to povedat po Slovensky?"

Lara smiled back. "That is so cool."

It seemed that the crowd agreed because sporadic applause erupted and then spread.

Jessie smiled bashfully. "Acutally," He said then. "As long as I'm talking to you I can speak either English or Slovak. I can even use some of that Spanish you know. I would have demonstrated, except you didn't know how to say any of the things you were saying, um, in Spanish."

Lara blushed. "I only took one year." She said defensively.

Everyone laughed, including Matt.

"Alright, thank you, Lara. Since you're up here. Why don't you tell us about yourself?"

"Um, I'm Lara." Then she winced. "But you knew that already, didn't you."

Laughter.

"I'm from New York, uh, I was a reporter there and I, my ability is uh, I notice things."

"I'm noticing a few things myself." Said the heckler but he quieted very quickly at Matt's reproving glance.

"What do you mean by you notice things?" Matt asked. "Can you demonstrate?"

Lara sighed shakily. What should she do? Then it hit her.

"I can tell you things about that guy." She said and pointed to the heckler.

Matt raised his eyebrows. "Okay."

"Okay." Lara answered. "Um, yeah, okay. He's most recently from California, more specifically Northern California, probably Monterey Bay. But he was most likely born in Eastern Texas and lived there until he was five or six. He likes bagels and prefers strawberry jelly to cream cheese. He was in the facility for approximately eleven weeks before we were rescued and he has at least one older brother."

The heckler looked shocked. "How did you…can you read minds too?"

Lara shook her head. "Your accent and syntax are unique to the coast of Northern California. Occasionally, you slip into an Eastern Texas accent but only in very elementary vocabulary. That placed your relocation at around six or seven. Your demeanor with Matt as an authority is rebellious but jocular, suggesting that you have an older brother around his age."

The crowd clapped appreciatively.

"Wait." The heckler said then. "What about the bagel thing? How'd you know about that?"

Lara smiled. "It's what you eat for breakfast every morning."

The heckler leered a bit. "You keeping tabs on my eating habits beautiful?"

"Actually, I automatically notice everyone's eating habits." She shrugged. "It's what I do. I notice things."

Matt smiled. "Well, let me just say, that's a cool ability. Thanks for helping us out Lara. You can go sit back down."

Lara smiled and gratefully went back to her seat.

Hesam placed his arm protectively almost possessively around her shoulders and gave her another gentle squeeze. "Good job." He whispered.

The next hour was very interesting. There were more demonstrations and few surprised cries when someone announced an ability another had. Finally, it was Hesam's turn.

"Hi," Hesam said as he stood. "I'm Hesam and I can wink really well." He gestured to the patch covering his eye.

The crowd laughed softly.

Hesam shrugged. "I'm not really anything. I don't have an ability."

There were curious murmurs at that.

"That's not true, Hesam." Peter spoke up. It was the first time he had spoken. "You have an ability. You have the ability to save lives."

Everyone had turned to look at Peter but now turned back expectantly to Hesam who just smiled sadly.

"I'm a paramedic. That's not an ability."

Peter grinned. "It is when someone's bleeding and needs your help. I think someone like you, someone who knows how to help a person who's hurt, would be a good person to have on a team."

Hesam looked his one time partner in the eye and nodded. "Thanks Peter." He looked at Lara. "Whatever you need, you can count on me, Rookie."

Peter smiled crookedly at Hesam. "You're in my world now, Hesam. I'm not the rookie in this place, you are." But he reached out and grasped Hesam's hand in a firm and friendly shake.

"Hey, hey, hey." The heckler, who had identified himself as Alex, a fire starter, called. "Who are you, guy?" and he directed his question to Peter. "What do you do? I mean, besides stand there looking grim?"

Peter smiled and the intensity of it sent a chill down Hesam's spine. It seemed to have affected Alex as well because he backed down.

"Anyone want a demonstration?" He said cheerfully.

There were a few nods and a lot of curious glances.

Peter held up a hand and Lara stared as blue sparks flew off of it.

"Electricity." Peter announced.

Then his hand stopped sparking and turned a frosty blue.

"Freezing."

Then his hand started to glow a pinkish orange.

"Radiation."

Then his hand burst into flames.

"Fire."

Suddenly, Peter floated up two feet off the ground.

"Flight."

Peter settled back down to the ground and crossed his arms again.

"Basically, the way it works is anything you can do" He shrugged. "I may not do better but I will be able to do."

Everyone seemed to take a moment to absorb that.

"I can also, like Matt, read minds." Peter said and he started strolling down the aisle. "I haven't just been standing around looking grim." Peter looked pointedly at the heckler.

"I've been reading you. I'm sorry to have had that without your knowledge but precautions have to be taken."

Peter held out his hand and suddenly a man, who had just minutes before introduced himself as Denise, a telepath like Matt, stated floating in the air.

"You see, we knew they knew about Matt and we figured if they planted a spy. It would be a telepath. Someone who'd have the ability to deflect Matt's queries."

Peter gestured and Denise floated over the heads of the astonished crowd and hung in the air before him.

"Oh yeah, along with telekinesis, I also have the ability to read minds." Peter said grimly.

"I'm sorry." Denise said in a panic. "I'm so sorry. They said…They said they'd let me go. That I could have my life back." The man started to cry but the crowd started to rumble with anger.

"Quiet down everyone." Matt said appealingly. "We've got this under control. Everything is fine."

Peter smiled and lowered Denise to the ground. "I think they might actually honor their agreement when we're through."

Denise gulped. "What are you going to do to me?"

Matt sighed. "We're going to take your memory of this place, the escape, all of it. Then we're going to take something else."

Matt walked forward and stared intently at Denise whose eyes became suddenly vacant. Then Matt stood back and nodded to Peter.

"Denise," Peter said. "This is what you're going to remember. Me. Only me. You're going to remember every word I say and be able to repeat it back to your handles. Do you understand?"

Denise nodded numbly.

"We haven't hurt you. We don't want to. Leave us alone and we will leave you alone. If you keep trying to abduct people, we will keep trying to save them and more and more people will get hurt. This has to stop, and only you have the ability to stop it. Also, if you turn any more of us against our own kind, the same thing that happened to Denise will happen to them."

Peter then reached out and grabbed Denise's arms with both hands. The man tensed for a moment and then screamed, his knees giving way beneath him. He crumpled to the floor but Peter held on and, as everyone watched, a strange white light seemed to seep out of Denise and into Peter.

Peter let go and stepped back, nodding at Daphne who shot Denise with a tranquilizer. The room was silent as Brent and Ando walked in, placed Denise on a stretcher and took him away.

"What did you do to him, Peter?" Hesam turned, surprised because it was Lara who had spoken.

"I took his ability." The room erupted into excited chatter and Matt held up his hands.

"Quiet! Quiet, everyone. Let us explain."

An older woman, Hesam struggled to remember her name, something like Daisy or Heather or Rose…some kind of flower.

It didn't matter, flower lady stood up and asked, "You can take away a persons ability?"

Peter nodded.

"Forever?" The woman asked with bated breath.

Peter nodded again. "I can and will take the ability of anyone who asks."

"You mean," This time it was Jessie who spoke. "We can be normal?"

"We're normal now." The heckler, Alex said and Hesam was surprised that he actually agreed with the man on something.

"You know what I mean." Jessie said shortly. "We could go home. Right?" He looked desperately at Matt and Peter. "Right? If we don't have an ability they won't need to lock us up. You could just do your mojo on all of us and we could all go home."

"Speak for yourself, kid." Alex said. "I'm just fine as I am."

To Hesam's surprise, Lara stood up.

"I can't believe it but I agree with Alex." She paused for a moment. "I know this is scary and Jessie I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to go home. I want to go home. But the fact is that if we shed our abilities and walk away, we won't be able to help. There are people out there right now, living their lives with a timer counting down over their heads."

She cleared her throat. "People like James and his cohorts are coming for them and they don't even know it. If we all lose our abilities and run away, who will have the power to help them?"

"I won't judge anyone who takes Peter up on his offer but, as for me, I'm going to fight these bastards until we're all safe to be as God made us."

Lara didn't so much sit down as collapse back into her seat. Hesam felt a warm glow of pride flowing through his chest and he pulled Lara into his arms protectively. She was shaking.

"I am so proud of you, Angel." He whispered. Then he looked up as Peter spoke again.

"Alright." He said to the listening crowd. "Are you gonna join the fight? Or are you going to go home? It's time to choose."

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**That's it. That's all she wrote. What did you think?**


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